About MeMy Art

Jasaña Alleyne is an emerging artist focused on political and social issues finally rocking cities across the world. In her undergraduate studies, Alleyne noticed a consistently negative (or complete lack of) portrayal of the black body and black experience in her traditional art history and studio classes, as well as in popular culture. Increasingly troubled, Alleyne dedicated herself to changing what she calls the ‘lack of black,’ in the world around her. Her artworks are predominantly figurative, taking inspiration from historical portraits and even religious imagery. The two series' she is currently working on is Renaissance Reimagined and the Orishas.
Renaissance Reimagined is a conversation with art history. Through life-sized paintings completed with the Pre-Raphaeilite Brotherhood painting techniques, Alleyne refutes art history's assertion of what a beautiful subject is and counters traditional aesthetic forms of othering. These paintings analyze familiar themes and iconographies from art history, reimagining them through a contemporary and inclusive lens. The Orishas series explores the spirituality of the Yoruba people, which began when Alleyne learned of her Orisha Guardian, Yemaya. This work is a personal exploration that helps her connect with and learn more about her ancestors and her father's Nigerian culture. In this series, she produces large-scale oil paintings, prints and sculptures that contextualize spiritual beings in the present day. She aims to shed light on the religious practices of the Yoruba people that, for centuries, have been stigmatized and restricted by European slave owners.