ARTIST STATEMENT
Following the Black feminist tradition of consciousness raising, over the course of 2 years, a 6 image series was created. Consciousness raising is a practice that centers gathering together to have conversations, hear other experiences, and raise your understanding of how these same issues, impact others differently. The series centers Black femme and nonbinary bodies highlighting social justice and wellness issues that impacts these types of spirits, bodies, and communities. Grief and death work, destigmatizing psychedelics, astrology, and invisibility are some of the themes explored across the series. MarsVenus, Lightcodes, and Queen Cup, are 3 images from the series. Similar to others, the pandemic pushed Sequoya not only to explore these same themes for herself, but also to return to her art practice as an elder millennial in her early 40’s. In an effort to continue the conversations at the intersections of these themes, Sequoya created this series to center the experiences of other Black queer invisibly disabled bodies. Each body within the image is suspended in different elements (i.e.- water, air, etc) Hand cut images were layered to create the background (base) of the collages. The final images have gone through rounds of layering which consists of hand cut images over layered together virtual images. While each collage only consists of 6 – 8 pieces, Sequoya combines mixed media techniques such as mark making to expand on the visuals of the images.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sequoya is a therapist, yoga teacher, and mixed media/social practice artist. She incorporates themes and symbols from growing up in the midwest, and the influences of spending summers with her grandparents and family in the deep south, into her practice to restore the relationship between spirit and body. Her artistic work explores black queer feminism through afrosurrealism, mental health, and our connection to the land. She curates and organizes virtual and in person offerings that center themes aligned with her practice, 1801 Small Ave Studios. This includes a visual, community, and education centered approach to liberatory and healing justice centered art. Sequoya is originally from the southside of Chicago, and has been exhibiting and participating in artistic residencies more recently, between Anchorage, Alaska, Chicago, Illinois, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Sequoya has been featured in the Black Lesbian Archives Back to the Root Spring 2022 Issue. She collaborated on the current exhibition “How to Survive” (2023 – 2024) with the Anchorage Museum. She participated in group exhibitions such as the Black Alaskans Matters Exhibit, and with the Anchorage Museum Alaska Biennial (2022 – 2023). Sequoya submitted a coloring page (D is for Demonstration) for the 2022 Abolition Alphabet Coloring Book. She has completed an artist – in – residence with the Anchorage Museum, Dear Artists with Anxiety Residency, the Chicago Connect Residency, and the SEED Lab in Anchorage, Alaska. Lastly, her social art practice centers facilitating quarterly arts centered political education workshops that center black feminist values in art.
© Sequoya Hayes