Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ Queens

Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ Queens is a multidisciplinary installation spanning film, portraiture, performance, textile, and sculptural elements, reinterpreting the Yoruba Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ tradition through a contemporary diasporic lens. Rooted in a performance practice that honors the spiritual and social power of women, the exhibition centers matriarchal authority, ritual, and collective memory.

Through staged imagery, moving image, and embodied performance, the work reimagines Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ as both ceremonial and critical, addressing contemporary social concerns while maintaining its connection to ancestral knowledge. The exhibition positions the figure as both performer and vessel, bridging histories of reverence, resistance, and transformation across the diaspora.