Dahomey in the Cafe
(charcoal on paper, 30” x 30” original, in David C. Driskell Center permanent collection)
Best in Show, Touchstone Gallery DC , “Us : What Divides us and What Unites us”, Washington, DC. Sept 2020
Juror’s Prize, “Martha’s Vineyard Drawing Prize”, Martha’s Vinyard, MA. Oct 2020
First Place, “Black & White”, Cape Cod Cultural Center, Cape Cod, MA. May 2021
I chose the dahomey Amazon as the subject for this piece because it embodies the archetype of a confident woman. As part of elite military regiment, these amazons lived outside the confines of a male society and claimed status and privelege in a society where, otherwise, they would have had none.
Resilient in its shape and form, the triangular composition of this drawing gives it the "fortitude" to stand on its own in a sea of negative space. And thus it justifies its existence, not by seeking to overwhelm the space but simply to blend with it, syncretically.