Agbemabiese
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture 24'
Sculptures: The Ashes Under My Stomach, I Use As A Pillow, Gold Tooth, Gold Foot, Gold Loot, THEM BOYS AT THE YARD, PTSD
The Ashes Under My Stomach, I Use As A Pillow
41" x 83" x 40”, 2024
41" x 83" x 40”, 2024
An unnatural modification to spiritual and religious practice to consume the inheritance of worries, fears, and pain. An altered form to absorb the weight of generations. Both ritual and a question—an unsettling immediate petition to the divine: What hasn’t been done? How much longer? In search of relief. The weathered materials used disorient the context of time, capturing a wish held within the family for countless years. Adorned with family relics, charged materials, and natural resources, carefully precisely aligned to serve as an anchor, a seal, and a call—in a continued plea for resolution.
Gold Tooth, Gold Foot, Gold Loot
23" x 25" x 25”, 2024
23" x 25" x 25”, 2024
This altar symbolizes the migration of labor, resilience, and the ritual of prayer within the African American experience. The use of metal, a material known for its durability and strength, parallels the enduring spirit of the descendants of runaways, political prisoners, and Black fugitives sustained by prayer. The arrangement of metal cutouts conveys the transmission of blood, labor, and faith, with the angels serving as spiritual receivers of these offerings.
THEM BOYS AT THE YARD
83" x 74", 2024
83" x 74", 2024
PTSD
39" x 47", 2024
39" x 47", 2024
Photos courtesy of Anusha Alamgir.