Artist
Gail Shaw-Clemons
Twin Warrior Robe
Date2019
MediumMonotype print
Dimensions15 × 18 in. (38.1 × 45.7 cm)
Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection
Object numberDCCAH2020.038
ClassificationsSculpture
Locations
- Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (1350 Penn Ave NW, 105)
DescriptionGail Shaw-Clemons gains inspiration from knowledge of her history and ancestry. In her prints, she uses Adinkra symbols of the Akan people of Ghana, which represent ancient traditional wisdom. Inspired by a photograph of an African Warrior Robe, she began to manipulate her flat rectangular prints into three-dimensional facsimiles of that robe. The Warrior Robe relates to the fact that her ancestors were brought to America wearing only shackles. It represents an invisible shield of protection from the transatlantic journey, slavery, and Jim Crow, as well as the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter movements. While the patterns and textures of Shaw-Clemons’ prints reflect the chaos, turmoil and resistance that plagued her ancestors for over four hundred years, the robe itself symbolizes the strength and resilience of the African American spirit against all odds.
