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    Painting, figure and moon
    Caption
    Peacock Flower, Maya Simms, 2023, oil on canvas, 120 x 260 cm

    ©the artist

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    Painting of ackee
    Caption
    Ackee, Maya Simms, 2022, oil on canvas, 100 x 86 cm

    ©the artist

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    Mirrored artwork, hanging on wall at BAFTA
    Caption
    BAFTA 195 Donor Wall Commission, Maya Simms, 2022, stained and mirrored glass, 3600 x 2540 cm

    ©the artist

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    Installation shot of artwork, figure, acrylic on plywood, Victorian style red table cloth fabric, sugar, 6ft tall
    Caption
    Untitled, Maya Simms, 2022, acrylic on plywood, Victorian style red table cloth fabric, sugar, 6ft tall

    ©the artist

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    Caption
    Philanthropist III (short clip), Maya Simms, 2022, 57 seconds (full duration 14 minutes), sugar sculpture, molasses pour

    Audio of the video piece is a mixture of background noise from filming the molasses pour in studio, and audio from clips from YouTube of today's Moore Town Maroons of Jamaica, singing and dancing two songs about plantation life in slavery days, 'Jan Paaka Buko', (John Parker Booker) and 'We you bin dis lang taim' (Where you been this long time).They are descended from the Maroons, who freed themselves from slavery in Jamaica and established communities in the island's mountainous interior.

    ©the artist

Maya Simms – BA/BFA

Based in East London

I aim to reveal some less talked about, brutal realties of the colonisation of Jamaica and West Africa, while juxtaposing the inherent grace of Black life. Investigating this in painting and sculpture, whilst subverting the traditional materials used in western art.