Ambuya Nehanda In All Her Glory

I want my art to explore the fantasy of what if we treated women the same way we treated men. Would ambuya Nehanda have waited years to get the recognition she deserves? This painting is part of a collection of portraits of women I think are not celebrated. Malcolm X once said “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.” And I feel as if this attitude has carried on the wave of globalization and infected the rest of the world, with Africa being the main host of this parasitic mindset. Africa used to embrace and celebrate all these females but with time this all faded. We are now raising a generation of women and young girls who believe that their place is below men and it’s okay to be subjected to abuse in the name of love and submissiveness. The reason I drew ambuya Nehanda in the pose she is in is to emulate the pose that most royal members are portrayed in their royal portraits. These portraits were only done for important members only to immortalize them. I felt that was the best way to portray Nehanda in this way, even though she was far from royalty and instead was a spirit medium who was not in any way allowed the luxuries I have drawn on her. I would like to ponder on her personal thoughts and feelings. Did she choose this life? Would she have chosen a different past? And who would she be if she was born in a different time or even continent in a different skin?