ArtistAziza Claudia Gibson-Hunter
A Gathering of Self
Date2003
MediumArchival pigment print
Dimensions29 1/2 × 21 1/2 in. (74.9 × 54.6 cm)
Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection
Object numberDCCAH2004.059d
ClassificationsPrints
Locations
- Contract Appeals Board (441 4th Street NW, 350N)
Description“A Gathering of Self” was produced while in a DC Commission of the Arts and Humanities project. Gibson-Hunter and nine other artists were given the mission to create a group digital print portfolio. Each of them had the opportunity to work with Mr. David Adamson, a master of the digital print to create an editioned print.
“A Gathering of Self” is a dense image compiled by scanning objects, fabrics, photography and past artwork. ‘Gathering’ is an activity Gibson-Hunter engages in before creating work. It is a ‘systematic looking’ at her surroundings with the purpose of finding objects, writings, or images, that encapsulate, illustrate, or symbolize a particular concept or message.
When gathering, Gibson-Hunter also collects objects to construct an aesthetic to further express a concept/s. When the ‘gathered’ materials are arranged and juxtaposed they create something of a code.
Incorporated in this print are symbols inspired by Kikongo cosograms, and Kuba Cloth also from the Congo, as well as Egyptian symbols and patterns from Ghana. Gibson-Hunter was able to scan a six foot painting created earlier, and incorporate it into the piece, adding a layer of photographs and insects via Photoshop.
The image was inspired by the writings of the Black psychologist Dr. Richard King.
