Red, White, Black and Blue: an homage to African American Indigo 

In this free-standing sculptural installation I am exploring the African-American history of Indigo plantations and the development of the cotton and indigo “blue jean”. From rough hand hewn “slave-cloth” grown, harvested, woven, tailored and worn by enslaved African American, to the iconic “American denim”, Indigo and cotton have had a deep history woven into the literal fabric of this country. This altar will serve as homage to the enslaved African-american bodies who labored with the indigo in harsh and unrelenting conditions, and who innovated it’s cultivation and process.

The twin sculptures are roughly 6ft.5in in height. A pair of life-size realistic, hand-sculpted ceramic lower legs and a second pair of arms, with a cracked dark brown surface texture are stained with blue from top to bottom and embedded with dark blue indigo, as if they were fresh from the indigo vats. Each set of limbs is standing atop a roughly 4.5ft stack of American blue jeans. Each one folded in a tight bundle reminiscent of the indigo block traditionally made in west african indigo traditions. These body parts are presented as sacred altars to the Black bodies and workers themselves. The altars will be surrounded with small sacred objects, salt, cotton, prayer beads and flower petals.

Year created 2021 Taos, NM

Materials: Ceramic, Raw Indigo, Red Iron, Cotton, Denim

Each Sculpture: 78in x 24in x 24in

Total footprint for both in space: roughly 5ft x 8 ft (total dimension with viewing space)