African MerWomen show at the Avery

I am very excited to be a part of the Avery Research Center’s exhibit, “Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore.” To my great surprise they have even featured my quilt on their website!  I was not able to make the opening but I do hope to see the show before it closes on March 31, 2009.

The name of my quilt is Olokun Kept Us. As I mentioned below,  Olokun is said to be the keeper of the deepest part of the sea.  She is often depicted as a mermaid. Sometimes she is described as being/connected to Yemaya. In some parts of African culture Olokun  is personified in patience, endurance, observation, wisdom, history of the past and future visions.  She is also often described as the protector of those Africans who were stolen during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.  My quilt depicts Olokun as a welcoming and watching spirit.  I locate her within the deepest bluest part of the ocean.  The figures depicted walking across the sky represent the ancestors who walked (or flew) back to Africa rather than be enslaved. I know, I know, I am pulling together a number of narratives within African and African American culture.  I am allowed — I am an artist. (smile).