Fort Greene is a neighborhood which has relatively recently transitioned form working class and low income to one of the most affluent neighborhood of Brooklyn. Currently people form a range of ages and backgrounds make their way through the park each day.
While areas surrounding much of the park is considered gentrified, the majority of the people living around the north-east entrance of the park are low income African Americans. I was compelled to do Adorn Me to speak directly to the African American community which often goes unrepresented in public art.
Adorn me is a piece which speaks directly to the merging of culture thought incorporation contrasting elements of adornment. I seek to addressing the demographic of people of African decent who often underrepresented in public art especially in terms of the current historic artwork featured in and around the park since it’s creation.
Adorn me takes from the traditions of African heads and incorporates Victorian / colonial ornamentation. I am inspired to by the Ife sculptures of Benin from the 13th century. The Ife heads which were all slightly smaller than life sized, were used to represent a spiritual or royal figure during ritualistic and spiritual ceremonies. The particular feature of many of the Ife sculptures are their representation of scarification. They make marks deepare from.