Queen Nanny of the Resurrection

Queen Nanny (c. 1686–1760) was a Chieftainess, priestess, and military leader of the Windward Maroons in Jamaica who innovated and lead military strategy to defeat the Imperial British army, forcing them to cede territories in Jamaica that remain sovereign to this day. The Jamaican Maroons are a living culture of sovereign peoples, keeping alive Indigenous ways of being of their Taino and Akan/Ashanti ancestors. They are descendants of people who refused to be enslaved and proudly continue a legacy of sovereignty.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/a62ff0_fd8a5ce28a58436fbe9cd96e52002500/720p/mp4/file.mp4

This reimagining of Queen Nanny is a deliberate departure from the widely known depiction of the warrior woman in a white headwrap. She wears a softened expression and a crown of pumpkin vines, holding the duality of maternal tenderness and strength. The pumpkin is in 3 forms; seed, flower and fruit – a holy trinity of sorts. She is Mother Nature; the nexus of life, death and rebirth. She is abundance and wisdom. She is embodiment of Source. She is faith and grace, and reminds us that regeneration and transformation are not only possible, but promised.

This piece has been several years and intersecting mystical experiences in the making.

I honor Gaamang Gloria Simms AKA Mama G, Paramount Queen of the Maroons, Priestess, interdisciplinary artist, ancestral wisdom-keeper and Women’s rights advocate, as co-creator of this work. Thank you, Mama G, for welcoming me with open arms, for trusting and supporting my work, for graciously posing for the reference photo, and for your generous reasonings and spiritual guidance through late-night phone calls throughout this process. I am grateful beyond words.

This is a work in progress. In the upcoming months, I intend to bring this piece back to Jamaica where the process began, completing the creative arc and formally releasing it into the world. I haven’t confirmed when or how that will happen, but the intention has been spoken aloud and the details have been left up to the Divine