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mixed media
Not currently on view
Museum Purchase: Funds provided by William E.Simms, Dee Dee Murphy, Viola T. Alexander, Cindy & Harvey Gantt, Harold S.Pride, Sr., and Dr. Rosamuel Dawkins
Through freighted references to oppression and aggression, Radcliffe Bailey uses chain, an axe head, and trees as symbols of African American struggle, pride, and transcendence. The interlocking links of chain suggest strength through family and community. Shango, the Yoruba thunder god, is signified by an axe. The surface embellishments of the axe represent the beautiful skin textures and patterns created through the African practice of ritual scarification. The urns hanging from the dormant tree recall bottle trees—an African tradition that has been transplanted to the South—thought variously to bring rain and luck, ensnare evil, and make trees bloom. The title of the work, Middle Passage, refers to the difficult and often deadly trans-Atlantic voyage that brought slaves from Africa to America. Bailey brings together a wide range of media to create the imagery of this powerful assemblage – a kind of collage utilizing three-dimensional elements.
Accession Number: 1993.22
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