“Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ Headdress
2023 · Sculpture
Traditionally, Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ headdresses are performed to honor and engage the spiritual and social power of women, often addressing community concerns through satire and symbolism. This diasporic reinterpretation extends that function into the present, confronting police violence and the politics of Black visibility. The raised hands and broken handcuffs evoke both submission and resistance, situating the work within ongoing struggles against systemic oppression.
Medium Resin and found objects
Dimensions Variable
The Fetishization of Black Hair Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ Headdress
A photographic and performance project reimagining the Yoruba Gélédé masquerade through a contemporary diasporic lens. The work honors the Ìyàmi, matriarchal lineages within Yoruba cosmology, while examining gender fluidity embedded in sacred masquerade traditions. Shot within colonial-era architecture, the series creates spatial interventions that reclaim historical sites as ceremonial ground.
Medium Resin and found object
Dimensions Variable
