Acrylic+newsprint on canvas. 2004
Arylic on canvas. 2005
Pencil+paper 2011
Acrylic on canvas 2011. A little something cliched
Process: completion.
Found the inspiration for my next painting.
In 2004, lesbian activist FannyAnn Eddy was brutally murdered in Sierra Leone in her office building a few months after returning from a meeting with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The details surrounding her death are horrific: evidence revealed that her throat was cut, her tongue and eyes were removed and she was raped. Although the motives of Eddy’s assailant(s) are sketchy, her untimely death shook the African LGBT community, and left her partner and son without a spouse and mother.
![mermaidsofcolor:
Mami Watta of the Ovimbundu peoples, Angola
Mami Wata is venerated in West, Central, Southern Africa, and in the African diaspora in the Caribbean and parts of North and South America. Mami Wata spirits are usually female, but are sometimes male
Mami Wata possesses African beauty. The appearance of her hair ranges from straight, curly to kinky black and combed straight back.[4][5][dead link] In many parts of West and Central Africa, “Mami Wata” serves as a slang term for a gorgeous woman.
Mami Wata is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman’s upper body (often nude) and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent.[6][7][8] In other tales, Mami Wata is fully human in appearance (though never human). Mami Wata often carries expensive baubles such as combs, mirrors, and watches. A large snake (symbol of divination and divinity) frequently accompanies her, wrapping itself around her and laying its head between her breasts. Other times, she may try to pass as completely human, wandering busy markets or patronising bars.[4] She may also manifest in a number of other forms, including as a man.[5]
[9][10][11] In the Yoruba tradition, the mother goddess Yemaja has been recently associated with Mami Wata in popular culture.[citation needed] Traders in the 20th century carried similar beliefs with them from Senegal to as far as Zambia. As the Mami Wata traditions continues to re-emerge, native water deities were subsumed into it.[12]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvz8zgEw891r83fyio1_400.jpg)
Mami Watta of the Ovimbundu peoples, Angola
Mami Wata is venerated in West, Central, Southern Africa, and in the African diaspora in the Caribbean and parts of North and South America. Mami Wata spirits are usually female, but are sometimes male
Mami Wata possesses African beauty. The appearance of her hair ranges from straight, curly to kinky black and combed straight back.[4][5][dead link] In many parts of West and Central Africa, “Mami Wata” serves as a slang term for a gorgeous woman.
Mami Wata is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman’s upper body (often nude) and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent.[6][7][8] In other tales, Mami Wata is fully human in appearance (though never human). Mami Wata often carries expensive baubles such as combs, mirrors, and watches. A large snake (symbol of divination and divinity) frequently accompanies her, wrapping itself around her and laying its head between her breasts. Other times, she may try to pass as completely human, wandering busy markets or patronising bars.[4] She may also manifest in a number of other forms, including as a man.[5]
[9][10][11] In the Yoruba tradition, the mother goddess Yemaja has been recently associated with Mami Wata in popular culture.[citation needed] Traders in the 20th century carried similar beliefs with them from Senegal to as far as Zambia. As the Mami Wata traditions continues to re-emerge, native water deities were subsumed into it.[12]
process 1: divination (6 of 7)
It is said of the goddess Ochun that she dances and weeps
because no one can ever love her enough,
and the world is not as beautiful as it could be.
