Taylor Nicole Naa Odey Quaye

Philosophy major, Studio Art minor

Our world is rampant with loss, with grief, with illness — an ever-flowing river that only seems to flow harder and faster as the years go by. Many of us are aware that loss, grief and illness plague millions of lives, yet the distance between those of us who are forced to meditate on this unfortunate truth and those who view them as passive truths calls for a bridging of these two worlds. 

My work aims to bring forward these experiences with loss, grief, and illness — to audiences who haven’t been forced yet to confront them, and to audiences who know these experiences all too well  — and to build a world that reflects on the pain of loss, the joy of love, the strength of healing, and the legacy of my own mother. I construct a new reality, one where these unfortunate truths are loudest, but also balanced by the hope of spiritual rebirth and healing. 

I am inspired by the lineage of performance artists before me, who have used their bodies as both material and canvas. These artists have forcibly confronted the experience of the body within our world, and externalized their emotions and thoughts towards these experiences through artistic practice. I aim to join alongside the legacy of these artists, using my own body, my own story, my own pain, and my own love to construct a space that offers a window for audiences to humanize loss and grief.

My Love You Deserve Peace

mixed media - screenprint, archival inkjet print, performance, video, sculpture, collage, photography

Jewett Black Box

This project is a reimagined construction of a corner of my room, which I call my cozy corner, a space full of ephemera and memorabilia dedicated to my mother and her memory. It’s a place I still find a lot of comfort in, because my mother and I bonded there in such a way that goes beyond familia — friendship. 

My cozy corner is the legacy of my mother on this campus — her spirit resides here with me. In an effort to give my mother a second life through my work, I reconstruct this space as an altar, using my art as a conduit for her spirit and a veneration of her life/loss. 

This project is not only an aesthetic practice, but a spiritual one. Not solely a work to be viewed, this work is a practice of healing. Through a mix of media — screenprint, film/video, photography, collage, performance, digital print, and sculptural/3D elements — I channel her life through the work. To me, that is the essence of an altar, regardless of the kinds of structure that it may manifest itself in. 

This project is not only a labor of love, but also a labor of healing and grief. I hope to make space for the spectrum of feelings that come with loss, which we are often conditioned to suppress. This project is my therapy — not only dealing with her loss, but also reflecting and enjoying her memory, holding that close to my own spirit. 

to see more work by Taylor: 

@_taylorrrr.quayeee_

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