In the conception of Panmela Castro's Affective Drift, life is guided by meetings by chance, in a process of feeling liberated to float. Moments of encountering that are aleatory and others that were already written. In this series, the artist let herself go by a movement in territories in which she is taken by a network of affections she builds as she goes.

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During the month of March 2023, Panmela goes to the city of Dakar, Senegal, to be part of an artistic residency promoted by the Black Rock Senegal Program. During the residency, she develops her Affective Drift series, painting, meeting new people and learning about the local culture.

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Elijah Ndoumbe is a non-binary photographer who was also participating in the Black Rock residency and was the first person Panmela painted in Dakar. Their image-making relationships extend to building close communities between the USA, South Africa, West Africa, and the extended black and trans diaspora. The painting was done live and, based on Elijah's suggestion, Panmela painted their hands in motion playing the Djembe (musical instrument). They also thought with Panmela about the background of the work, which is the Dakar sea seen from the front of the studio where they were.