Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence

Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence features a new body of paintings and sculptures by American artist Kehinde Wiley confronting the legacies of colonialism through the visual language of the fallen figure. It expands on a subject the artist first explored in his 2008 series Down―a group of large-scale portraits of young Black men inspired by Wiley’s encounter with Hans Holbein. Holbein’s painting triggered an ongoing investigation into the iconography of death and sacrifice in Western art that Wiley traced across religious, mythological and historical subjects. An Archaeology of Silence extends these considerations to include men and women around the world whose senseless deaths, often unacknowledged or silenced, are transformed into a powerful elegy of global resistance against state-sanctioned violence. The resulting paintings of Black bodies struck down, wounded or dead, all referencing iconic historical paintings of slain heroes, martyrs or saints, offer a haunting meditation on the violence against Black and Brown bodies through the lens of European art history. ISBN: 9781636810980 Jake & Jones Books We're pleased to present our curated collection of books at Jake & Jones. Our shop was founded on the belief that active curiosity is inherent to our existence, it's what keeps us going. We've aimed to curate a collection that's applicable for anyone to treasure, explore and pique curiosity.