Elizabeth Ashamu Deng
Your Future is Bright
YOUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT: Artist's Statement
The youngest of four siblings, I grew up in the protective shade of my eldest sister, Priscilla. She was
wise, warm, and charismatic—regal in the way she carried herself and cared for those around her. In
the weeks after her sudden passing, a friend told me that I carried the same light that she did. Not
long after, as I came to terms with the abrupt end of my diplomatic career with USAID, my aunt
offered me a simple reassurance: Your future is bright.
These expressions of care and support from friends and family became my constant affirmations-
anchoring me as I navigated grief, professional rupture, and the reimagining of my life.
This exhibition is a celebration of shade and a meditation on the meanings of brightness: sun-kissed,
flower-filled, celestial, golden, translucent, and full of possibility. The work is created through
cyanotype, a photographic process that itself depends entirely on shade and light - using it,
responding to it, and translating it into image. In this way, cyanotype is not only a medium, but a
metaphor.
The images draw on recurring themes in my practice: African textile traditions, particularly Kanga
and Adire, and close attention to the flora that surrounds me. These references speak to what
energizes and comforts me.
Your Future Is Bright is ultimately a hopeful body of work - a celebration of survival, possibility, and
the joy of creating, shaped by loss but guided by light.
About ELIZABETH ASHAMU DENG
Elizabeth Ashamu Deng is a self-taught cyanotype artist and founder of the creative studio, Elewa.
Her work draws inspiration from the textiles, patterns, and natural forms of the African continent. She first discovered cyanotype in a high school photography class, but it wasn’t until 2021—after
buying a cyanotype kit for her children—that she found her way back to the medium. In 2025,
following the sudden loss of her sister and the unexpected end of her diplomatic career with the
U.S. Agency for International Development, she turned fully toward art as a form of healing. That
transition led to the founding of Elewa, through which she now shows and sells her cyanotype
prints and hosts workshops that connect contemporary African audiences with this historic process.
Alongside her artistic practice, Elizabeth has over fifteen years of experience in human rights and
humanitarian advocacy, most recently serving as a Foreign Service Humanitarian Assistance Officer
with USAID. Nigerian-American by background, she now lives and works in Nairobi.
The youngest of four siblings, I grew up in the protective shade of my eldest sister, Priscilla. She was
wise, warm, and charismatic—regal in the way she carried herself and cared for those around her. In
the weeks after her sudden passing, a friend told me that I carried the same light that she did. Not
long after, as I came to terms with the abrupt end of my diplomatic career with USAID, my aunt
offered me a simple reassurance: Your future is bright.
These expressions of care and support from friends and family became my constant affirmations-
anchoring me as I navigated grief, professional rupture, and the reimagining of my life.
This exhibition is a celebration of shade and a meditation on the meanings of brightness: sun-kissed,
flower-filled, celestial, golden, translucent, and full of possibility. The work is created through
cyanotype, a photographic process that itself depends entirely on shade and light - using it,
responding to it, and translating it into image. In this way, cyanotype is not only a medium, but a
metaphor.
The images draw on recurring themes in my practice: African textile traditions, particularly Kanga
and Adire, and close attention to the flora that surrounds me. These references speak to what
energizes and comforts me.
Your Future Is Bright is ultimately a hopeful body of work - a celebration of survival, possibility, and
the joy of creating, shaped by loss but guided by light.
About ELIZABETH ASHAMU DENG
Elizabeth Ashamu Deng is a self-taught cyanotype artist and founder of the creative studio, Elewa.
Her work draws inspiration from the textiles, patterns, and natural forms of the African continent. She first discovered cyanotype in a high school photography class, but it wasn’t until 2021—after
buying a cyanotype kit for her children—that she found her way back to the medium. In 2025,
following the sudden loss of her sister and the unexpected end of her diplomatic career with the
U.S. Agency for International Development, she turned fully toward art as a form of healing. That
transition led to the founding of Elewa, through which she now shows and sells her cyanotype
prints and hosts workshops that connect contemporary African audiences with this historic process.
Alongside her artistic practice, Elizabeth has over fifteen years of experience in human rights and
humanitarian advocacy, most recently serving as a Foreign Service Humanitarian Assistance Officer
with USAID. Nigerian-American by background, she now lives and works in Nairobi.
Kesho Yako Inang’aa—Your Future is Bright.
Cyanotype, hand-coated, on 300 gsm watercolor paper.
Edition of 3 (unique variants)
Image: 65 × 100 cm (26 × 39 in)
Price: Kshs 100,000
Cyanotype, hand-coated, on 300 gsm watercolor paper.
Edition of 3 (unique variants)
Image: 65 × 100 cm (26 × 39 in)
Price: Kshs 100,000
KANGA SERIES
I believe deeply in the power of words to influence the course of one’s life, and in surrounding
myself with art that is uplifting. I am drawn to Kanga for its bold patterns and its use of text as a
form of communication, allowing it to function as both visual and verbal expression. This, to me,
makes Kanga especially suited for lived spaces.
For this Kanga series, I chose sayings - not traditional Kiswahili proverbs, but my own created
phrases - that reflect my personal journey and ambition, and that I hope resonate with and inspire
others.
I believe deeply in the power of words to influence the course of one’s life, and in surrounding
myself with art that is uplifting. I am drawn to Kanga for its bold patterns and its use of text as a
form of communication, allowing it to function as both visual and verbal expression. This, to me,
makes Kanga especially suited for lived spaces.
For this Kanga series, I chose sayings - not traditional Kiswahili proverbs, but my own created
phrases - that reflect my personal journey and ambition, and that I hope resonate with and inspire
others.
SHADE
by Elizabeth Ashamu Deng
Some see me living in your shadow
No…
I bask in your shade
You are taller and stronger
Makes your shade wider and deeper
Baobab wisdom, Jacaranda splendor, Flame tree spice
The generosity of Moringa
The sweetness of mango
Frangipani fun-loving
Flow over me
I rest by you, in complete peace
Now the sun blazes on me
I don’t know where to find your shade
There are others, so many I had not seen
Also searching
We take memories
Stitch them into a gigantic, glorious quilt
Pitch it like a tent
Gather together underneath
It is not a Boabab
Not a Jacaranda
Not a Moringa or Mango
Flame tree or Frangipani
But it can keep us cool
by Elizabeth Ashamu Deng
Some see me living in your shadow
No…
I bask in your shade
You are taller and stronger
Makes your shade wider and deeper
Baobab wisdom, Jacaranda splendor, Flame tree spice
The generosity of Moringa
The sweetness of mango
Frangipani fun-loving
Flow over me
I rest by you, in complete peace
Now the sun blazes on me
I don’t know where to find your shade
There are others, so many I had not seen
Also searching
We take memories
Stitch them into a gigantic, glorious quilt
Pitch it like a tent
Gather together underneath
It is not a Boabab
Not a Jacaranda
Not a Moringa or Mango
Flame tree or Frangipani
But it can keep us cool
Banana Shade (2025)
Cyanotype, hand-coated, on 300 gsm watercolor paper.
Edition of 2 (unique variants)
Image: 86 × 117 cm (34 x 46 in)
Price: 90,000
Cyanotype, hand-coated, on 300 gsm watercolor paper.
Edition of 2 (unique variants)
Image: 86 × 117 cm (34 x 46 in)
Price: 90,000
Karura Shade (2025)
Cyanotype, hand-coated, on 300 gsm watercolor paper.
Edition of 2 (unique variants)
Image: 86 × 117 cm (34 x 46 in)
Price: 90,000
Cyanotype, hand-coated, on 300 gsm watercolor paper.
Edition of 2 (unique variants)
Image: 86 × 117 cm (34 x 46 in)
Price: 90,000
CEILING INSTALLATION
10 pieces
Shade is not the opposite of light, but its complement. These double-sided linen cyanotype hangings
evoke the shade of a kanga by the beach and the shelter of a tree against the sky. They can be
installed as a ceiling covering, wall hangings, or vertical room dividers.
10 pieces
Shade is not the opposite of light, but its complement. These double-sided linen cyanotype hangings
evoke the shade of a kanga by the beach and the shelter of a tree against the sky. They can be
installed as a ceiling covering, wall hangings, or vertical room dividers.
Look Up, No. 1 (2026)
Cyanotype, hand-coated, on linen
Image: 110 x 150 cm (43 x 59 in)
Price: 25,000
Note-each of the 10 is unique, with varied leaf patterns.
Cyanotype, hand-coated, on linen
Image: 110 x 150 cm (43 x 59 in)
Price: 25,000
Note-each of the 10 is unique, with varied leaf patterns.
ADIRE SERIES
Adire is a traditional Yoruba resist-dyed textile from Nigeria, created by applying wax, starch, or
stitching to cloth to block areas of dye and form intricate patterns. Each motif carries specific
meanings and stories, making Adire not only decorative but also a form of visual communication.
In this series, I draw directly from these traditions, creating the resist - the shaded areas that block
light and pigment- as the foundation of each composition. I am drawn to Adire for the symbolism
embedded within its patterns, where design becomes language. As I create and adapt motifs, they
take on new meanings of their own. The rhythmic, repetitive act of drawing the resist becomes a
form of meditation and affirmation.
Adire is a traditional Yoruba resist-dyed textile from Nigeria, created by applying wax, starch, or
stitching to cloth to block areas of dye and form intricate patterns. Each motif carries specific
meanings and stories, making Adire not only decorative but also a form of visual communication.
In this series, I draw directly from these traditions, creating the resist - the shaded areas that block
light and pigment- as the foundation of each composition. I am drawn to Adire for the symbolism
embedded within its patterns, where design becomes language. As I create and adapt motifs, they
take on new meanings of their own. The rhythmic, repetitive act of drawing the resist becomes a
form of meditation and affirmation.
SOLAR BOTANICALS
This series draws on the visual relationship between flowers and the sun, both defined by radiating
form and energy. Through close studies of plants and blossoms, the works celebrate their solar
qualities, revealing brightness within shape and structure, even within the coolness of Cyanotype
blues.
This series draws on the visual relationship between flowers and the sun, both defined by radiating
form and energy. Through close studies of plants and blossoms, the works celebrate their solar
qualities, revealing brightness within shape and structure, even within the coolness of Cyanotype
blues.
Strip Woven
These two works are made using cyanotypes, sewn in narrow strips to mirror the structure of West African strip cloth that is traditionally woven in long, slender bands and assembled into larger textiles
These two works are made using cyanotypes, sewn in narrow strips to mirror the structure of West African strip cloth that is traditionally woven in long, slender bands and assembled into larger textiles
Dream in Gold (2026)
Quilted cyanotype on 300 gsm watercolor paper, with hand-drawn pen details.
Image: 108 x 82 cm (42 x 32 in)
Price: 150,000
Quilted cyanotype on 300 gsm watercolor paper, with hand-drawn pen details.
Image: 108 x 82 cm (42 x 32 in)
Price: 150,000
Moonlight (2026)
Quilted cyanotype on 300 gsm watercolor paper.
Image: 78 x 90 cm (31 x 35 in)
Price: 120,000
Quilted cyanotype on 300 gsm watercolor paper.
Image: 78 x 90 cm (31 x 35 in)
Price: 120,000