“We keep dreaming and producing…We are a historical miracle…people who maintain tradition, resilience and possibility in places in which the circumstances are difficult.”
—Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons—
1. Hush Harbor for Bay Suggs: We Run to the Rock, 2024. Plexi glass, wood, rock and trumpet. 2. Tapping the Root, 2024. Carved wood and ceramic. 12” x 132”
Okra Fly, 2024. Wood, ceramic, steel. 72”L x 12” W x 16” D
Okra Fly (detail image). Ceramic
To Gather and Sift. 2024 Steel, wood, paint, tar, fabric dye, nylon, peat moss, Spanish moss, cotton, coffee, tobacco, rice. (39.5” w at the base x 18” at the apex x 9’ h) ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
To Gather and Sift (detail image) ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Rhythm Section_2022_carved wood, paint, powdered graphite on wood, gold dust, steel and motors. 72”H x 84”W x 13”D The pounding of millet is an ancient practice among many African cultures. Almost exclusively carried out by women, the repetitive movement plays an essential role in the survival of the community as an indispensable component of food production. ***click image to watch video***
The Rhythm Section ***photograph courtesy of the artist***
The Rhythm Section (detail) ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Wo-Mende Series (excerpts 18 of 24), 2023 graphite on paper and serigraph on plexiglass. 85" x 136" Among the Mende people in Sierra Leone, West Africa, the Mende mask is exclusively worn by initiated women in ceremonial dance. The Black American women rendered in this work all trace their ancestral roots back to the Mende people. ***photo courtesy of Johnson Lowe Gallery***
Wo-Mende Series
Wo-Mende Series, 2023 graphite on paper and serigraph on plexiglass ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Wo-Mende Series (collage image) ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
The Black Eyed Nkisi Nkondi. 2024 carved wood, automotive coil, steel, nails, red clay, black eye peas (20” w x 34” l x 6.5” depth) An Nkisi Nkondi is a West African spiritual object used to protect against evil spirits. Black eye peas are a food source imported to the Americas from Africa. This object references the intersectionality of the material and the spiritual--the corporeal and the incorporeal.
The Black Eyed Nkisi Nkondi (detail) ***image courtesy of Russell Kilgore)***
Black Ivory; 2023. Carved wood, powdered graphite and charcoal, wax and paint. ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Black Ivory
Robert Turner Memorial_cast bronze and stone_Cypress Lawn Cemetery_San Francisco, Calif._2021 ***for additional information, click on image***
RTM
RTM
Elder_2020_Atlanta, GA_commissioned by the Freedom Park Conservancy***to watch video click on image***
Elder (detail collage image)
Dream Catcher for Langston Hughes_108 X 22 X 31 inches_bent and carved wood, steel, vintage tricycle, Sunmaid raisin container, prop dynamite, wire and blast box, red clay and stuffed fledgling blackbird_year completed: 2022
Child of the Radiant Night. paint and tar on wood, graphite and paint on paper. (23.5" X 75" x 8") 2023. Collection of Gouya and Payam Zamani ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Pick-Up Game with Kwaku Anansi 2022. Carved wood, powdered graphite and charcoal, basketball hoop, netting and spray paint. Dimensions are variable. Kwaku Anansi is one of the great folk heroes of the Akan People in Ghana. He’s a trickster, and a mischief maker who takes the form of a spider and triumphs over larger foes. ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Grounded_2016_carved wood, tar, cotton sack, raw cotton,serigraph on cloth. 28"W x 94"L x 14"H ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Harvest_2019_stereoscopes, vintage photograph and digitally altered photograph ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Harvest (detail image) ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
The Ballot & the Bullet_2018_wood, paint, resin and steel
Twice as Good_2018_serigraph on paper ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Redbone 2020 serigraph on paper, bone and paint ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Bitch. Bitch?_2019_serigraph on paper ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Onion 2018 serigraph on paper ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Whip; 2019. Serigraph on paper and bullwhip. Private collection ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
H.N.I.C. (head nigga in charge)_2018_serigraph on paper ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
H.N.I.C._2018_serigraph on paper ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Haulin' Ass_2018_wagon, paint, book, donkey figurine, serigraph on paper ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Constellation_2016_resin, wood, paint and wax, red clay, hair, cotton, copper, cloth, rabbit skinned glue.
Constellation (collage image). ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Freedom's Price_2016_steel, resin, slinshots, wood,serigraph on paper, faucet, spigot, segregation sign, stones
Freedom's Price (detail)
Freedom's Price (excerpt)_serigraph on paper
Pipeline; 2018 (resin, paint, handcuffs, dictionary, colored pencil on paper and school desk) ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Pipeline_2018 (resin, paint, handcuffs, dictionary, colored pencil on paper and school desk) ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Pipeline (detail)_2018
Soup Coolers_2019_serigraph on paper, soup can 24" W x 72" L ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Soup Coolers ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Soup Coolers (detail)
Punched_2020. Serigraph on wood panel, tar, speed bag and wood ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Baggage_2013_vintage horn and suitcase, serigraph on fabric
Tight Packers_2016_sardine cans, graphite on wood, vintage photograph
Tight Packers (detail)
Tight Packer (excerpt 1 of 100) 2018_graphite on wood panel and sardine can. Private collection ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Tight Packer_2016 graphite on wood panel and sardine can ***photograph of Russell Kilgore***
Elegy for Robert Hayden graphite on paper, paint on wood panel, shoes ***photograph courtesy of Russell Kilgore***
Elegy for Robert Hayden
Untitled_2009_steel, wood, cloth, serigraph on fabric, dye, cotton, tobacco, coffee grounds. Collection of Savannah College of Art and Design
Robert Turner Memorial Design variation_2021
Robert Turner Memorial_Burial marker design
A Yearning_ 2016_ steel, resin, wood, rope, pillow, paint and charcoal
Requiem for One of Many_ 2010_ serigraph on paper; wood; steel; ladder; paint; red clay; cloth; hair; cotton and rust.
site specific design proposal, 2023
site specific design proposal, 2023.
Reclamation and Restoration design proposal 2023