This 3 x 3 in. square patch features Kehinde Wiley’s 2009 painting Alegoria a Lei do Ventre Livre, reimagined from A.D. Bressae’s Alegoria a Lei do Ventre Livre (Allegory of the Law of Free Birth). The gesso scultpure serves as an allegory for the 1871 law that awarded “freedom” to children who were born of slave parents. Under this legislation, unless slave owners were compensated, these children were required to stay with their slave parents until they reached 21 years of age. The irony of this law is bypassed in A.D. Bressae’s rendering of a young Black boy proudly holding a notice of law in one hand, and a broken chain in the other. Wiley’s rendition features a model that is less-than-enthusiastic for such a legislation that ultimately bought slave owners more time against abolitionists.
Dye-sublimation with green merrowed borders and iron on backing.
Net proceeds from your purchase support the artist in residence program Black Rock Sénégal, founded by Wiley in 2019.
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Established in 2019, Black Rock Senegal is a multidisciplinary artist-in-residence program founded by Kehinde Wiley in Dakar, Senegal. The program brings together international artists to live and work at Wiley’s coastal compound for 1-3 month residencies. Designed by Senegalese architect Abib Djenne, the complex includes a residence and studio space for Wiley along with 3 single-occupancy residency apartments with adjacent studio spaces. Our mission is to support new artistic creation through collaborative exchange and to incite change in the global discourse about Africa. More information about Black Rock is available online at www.blackrocksenegal.org.
