Marie Elizabeth Venning, Fort Hill Plantation, Clemson University

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

An abstract mixed media sculpture by Adebunmi Gdabedo. The sculpture consists of a large, cylindrical ceramic vessel with human and ceramic locs attached along the back. The vessel is made with red clay hand dug from the True Blue Plantation in South Carolina and human hair from donors Cheryl Person, Ayana Evans, and Tiffany Freeman. It has a wide mouth and a concave, hollow belly. The locs extend several inches from the face of the vessel, and several are shaped at their base and ends by a waxy glaze. They are attached via metal wires that extend through to the interior. The back of the sculpture is bisected and features an internal clay bridge support.

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