Transatlantic
Artist
Radcliffe Bailey
(1968 - 2023)
Date2003
Mediummixed media on wood
Dimensions80 x 102 x 2 1/2 in.
ClassificationsMixed Media
Credit LineGeneral Purchase Fund
Object number2004.01
DescriptionRadcliffe Bailey works in an incredibly unique style, often likened to the greatness of fellow African-American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988). Using an assemblage of vintage photographs, collected objects, and painted figures, Bailey creates a multi-layered narrative that explores the history of African-Americans as well as the artist’s own personal history and influences. This image, likely drawn from the family album belonging to the artist’s Grandmother, mirrors Bailey’s “Sacred Cosmos”. Through the eyes of his familial past, the artist’s personal history overlaps with a universal cultural and racial history.
The objects within “Transatlantic” — such as a deeply rooted tree, citations of the Caribbean and Angola, and a small house or hut — convey a bridge from the past to the present across an ocean as well as underground. Visible are the items of struggle, including the outline of a machete, crosshairs from a weapon, an oar, anchor, sail and train tracks from the long, arduous journey. “Transatlantic” requires more than a glance to unlock the rich narrative beneath its layers. Through Bailey’s vision, we may look, and look again into the eyes of the past, present, and future.
In particular, Transatlantic refers to the slave trade between Africa and North America.
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