Yemanja/Mami Wata

2017, 42”L x 40.5”W, hand-dyed cotton and linen fabric, machine-quilted, hand-embellished.

Yemanja is the Yoruban Goddess of the Sea. She appears in many West African and African American art. Water is where life begins. Oceans and the creatures who live in them are her children. Yemanja’s almost stern/sad appearance is because she cannot be happy with the damage people have done to her home.

The background of Yemanja/Mami Wata is dye painted with an abstract school of fish and quilted with wave patterns. The figure and the block printed fish who surround her are small quilts that are appliqued on top of the background.