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Molly Bs

Shanequa Gay

mama stella's half

2024 | Photographic transfer on chiffon

mama stella's half features an image of a quilt made by artist Shanequa Gay's great-grandmother, Estella Battle, and great-aunt, Hessie Battle—both seamstresses in the Deep South. Printed on translucent chiffon, the quilt becomes both a visual archive and a spiritual veil.

Each square of fabric once held a life: a Sunday dress, a railroad overall, a singed pajama sleeve. Passed down through bloodlines and memory, these remnants form a map of family, survival, and quiet beauty.

By reimagining the quilt in soft, floating form, the artist transforms an everyday object of warmth into a sacred offering—one that honors the creative labor of Black women, the texture of Southern lineage, and the invisible artistry found in the act of making do.

"What I was calling art as a child, they were calling it living. This is inheritance as an altar. This is remembrance made material.” - Shanequa Gay

Process

Shanequa Gay

Shanequa Gay

Atlanta, Georgia

Shanequa Gay is an Atlanta-based visual artist known for her surrealist acrylic paintings that explore the spiritual dimensions of Black women, using storytelling, tradition, and place to create alternative self-imagery. Her multidisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture, video, and performance, often featuring mythical figures and hybrid beings that address historical and contemporary social issues. Gay's work has been showcased at prestigious venues such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Hammonds House Museum, and internationally in Japan, Canada, and Europe. She holds a B.A. in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and an M.F.A. from Georgia State University and has earned several fellowships and awards, including being a 2022 Hudgens Prize Finalist. Gay’s work is in notable collections, including that of Samuel L. Jackson and the permanent collection at SCAD. Currently, she teaches at Spelman College and Oglethorpe University and was featured in the 2022 Venice Biennale. Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta, GA, has showcased her work in exhibitions such as "The Beautiful Tale of Atlannahland" (2021) and "Gateway to the South" (2024).

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Other Artworks

No other artwork by this artist at this time.