JINHA

NEWS CENTER – Street artist YZ Yseult has covered the walls of towns and cities in Senegal with portraits of woman warriors who took up arms against slavery.

"I want to show warriors from ancient times; revolutionists, anti-colonialists, intellectual women who have written the story of Africa. We need figures to be proud of our roots, to keep fighting for our rights, and to write the story of tomorrow," said YZ, speaking with BrooklynStreetArt.com.

YZ often selected small metal shops owned by women to display her work. The project, Amazone, is the result of YZ's research in photographic archives into the women known as Amazone who went to war for the freedom of their people against French colonizers in 1890's First Franco-Dahomean War. YZ, who is from France, has been researching her own family's history as slaves and rediscovering the history of women's armed resistance against slavery.

"Many women have fought for their rights and the rights of their people, yet few of them have been recognized for their achievements and many stayed unknown," YZ said. "To know where we are going we need to know where we have been, and these stories are important to educate the next generation, especially women."

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