Daniela Yohannes: I Surrender my Body to Water and Fire

About

Daniela Yohannes (b. 1982) lives and works in Guadeloupe, in the French Caribbean. Yohannes’ latest body of work is a response to contemporary migration discourse, rendered through a personal, emotive, and Diasporic lens. These paintings meditate on and lament issues surrounding politics of place, freedom of movement, and the desperate actions people take to survive. The artist explores the hardship of a severed connection with homeland and community, while also confronting the devastating impact of treacherous migratory journeys. These paintings bear particular witness to the perils of the Eritrean people, with whom she shares an identity and a homeland.