“This ax that she holds in her hand, if it falls, it breaks into a thousand pieces. »

"During my research, I realized that Queen Njinga in Angola didn't wage war on the colonists with guns, but with an axe. Using the axe as a symbol, I wanted to represent all the other queens and all women in general. I chose to make an axe with a blade on both sides, to express the fact that a woman is calm when you know how to talk to her, when you know how to approach her, but that she can also reveal herself in other ways, in her malice, when she feels bullied.

We see this axe in the photograph entitled Akin V, a queen with a Yoruba crown on her head and an axe in her hand, the handle of which is not made of wood or metal, but of ceramic (1), a very fragile clay-based material. Because all those queens who fought to safeguard their lands, had it not been for their resistance at the time, were weakened. So I thought

thought of incorporating a symbol of resistance, the axe, but yet, this axe she's holding in her hand, if it falls, it breaks into a thousand pieces. It shows the very fragile side of women, despite all the resistance they can muster.

The sculpture was made in Vienna (2), Austria (3). Why Vienna? In reference to Queen Marie-Antoinette, who was Austrian. And also to speak of our African queens and kings, who were manipulated and given gifts from Europe."

 

(1) Ceramics is a technique for making objects from fired clay (pottery).

(2) Vienna is the capital of Austria.

(3) Austria is a country in Central Europe, south of Germany and north of Italy.