Stolen Queen

Seh-FEE-nah – Derived from Swahili, meaning “to rise” or “to ascend”.

“Sefina’s Ascendance” is part of the Sirens collection, a six-image series exploring sirens, African strength, colonial past, and spiritual awakening. In this piece, Sefina is enveloped in flowing, translucent fabric, her body suspended between darkness and light—a visual representation of transformation and self-realisation. The soft, celestial glow descending from above suggests a moment of awakening, a call toward something greater.

The fabric that surrounds her is more than mere cloth; it is ancestral memory, history, and the unseen forces that both carry and release her. It swirls and coils, evoking the tides of water, the breath of spirits, and the echoes of a past that still lingers. Sefina does not merely rise; she ascends—not as a figure lost to history, but as one reclaiming her place within it.

This artwork reimagines the traditional siren myth, not as a force of destruction but as a protector and liberator, guiding humanity away from the wreckage of the past and toward enlightenment. Sefina, like the sirens of this collection, is not a threat but a beacon—an embodiment of resilience, wisdom, and rebirth.

Canvas 1.7m x 1.3m
matt varnish
50mm stretcher frame