Holley’s totemic sculptures are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture. Objects that are already imbued with cultural and artistic metaphors are combined into narrative sculptures that commemorate places, people, and events. The root motif reoccurs in Holley’s work and conjures ideas of healing associated with folk and vernacular traditions.

"I put those roots inside of it. It made me think of my grandfather and the other old men and women who carried all the wisdom and tried to pass it down to us.”