Joy is part of my series of works titled “The Joy of Living“. In this series I document, celebrate, and honor those fleeting glorious moments of joy in our lives before we die.
With this piece, I wanted to convey the kind of infectious smile you see on a person’s face which can only be a result of an inside job – a joy that comes from your inner being; unaffected by external circumstances. Yet, it cannot be contained inside. It simply has to overflow to the outside – on the face of the person. In the process, it infects everyone who witnesses this pure joy.
In this series of works, I used the Adinkra symbol for joy in various places in each work. For this particular piece, you’ll find the symbol in the front of her hair, hanging from the center of her hair wrap.
Textured hair always plays a central role in my portraits. In this piece, the figure wears her hair in twists with a colorful head wrap tied around her twists.
Clara Nartey, Joy, 2022
Inks, and threads on cotton
40″ x 30
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