Queens of the Undead

Queens of the Undead is a series of paintings about historic black female military commanders who fought against slavery and colonialism—including Nanny of the Maroons, Njinga Mbandi, Harriet Tubman and Yaa Asantewa.

In 2010, paintings about Njinga Mbandi were exhibited at the 29th Bienal de São Paulo in Brazil, and paintings about Nanny, Tubman and Asantewaa were first exhibited in the 2012 solo exhibition Queens of the Undead at London’s Rivington Place, commissioned by INIVA.

Since then, works from the series have continued to be exhibited internationally, including at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Gallery MOMO in Johannesburg, at EXPO Chicago, at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, UK and at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, USA.

Paintings from the series are held in public and private collections internationally—including at the British Museum, the collection of CCH Pounder and the Sindika Dokolo Foundation.