Biography
Elizabeth Deng

Elizabeth Ashamu Deng is a self-taught artist working in cyanotype, a nineteenth-century photographic printing process also known as “blue-printing.” Invented in 1842 by British scientist Sir John Herschel, the process involves coating paper with a light-sensitive solution, placing objects or negatives on the surface, and exposing them to sunlight. After rinsing in water, the result is a vivid indigo image.

Elizabeth’s passion for art began in childhood. She experimented with everything from crochet and basket-weaving to cake-decorating. She first encountered cyanotype as a teenager in a photography class, but it wasn’t until 2021—when she bought a cyanotype kit to do with her children—that she returned to the medium and rekindled her love for it.

In 2025, following the sudden loss of her sister and the end of her diplomatic career with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), she turned fully to art as a form of healing and founded Ẹlẹ́wà, her creative studio. Through exhibitions and workshops, Ẹlẹ́wà expands knowledge of cyanotype and connects contemporary African audiences with this historic process.

Alongside her artistic practice, Elizabeth has worked in the human rights, humanitarian, and development sectors. She holds BA and MA degrees in African Studies from Yale University and a law degree from New York University. Nigerian-American by heritage, she lives and works in Nairobi.