Clotilda

The idea for this photopolymer intaglio print came by way of a story that was brought to my attention a year ago. I was intrigued. It deals with the discovery of a wooden ship, the Clotilda, which was the last known slave ship to arrive in the U.S. in 1860 in Alabama. The enslaved on board were from distinct ethnic groups of West Africa and were brought to America illegally as the business of human trafficking had ended. So as not to be caught, the ship’s owner had the boat scuttled upon arrival. One hundred and sixty years later it was found in Mobile Bay. It was a momentous event for the descendants of those enslaved.

I took “hot type” (in my own derivation) as “hot off the press” and used the background of the print to convey the story. Then I overlaid another print on top depicting drawings I did of symbols used in West Africa. These symbols were printed on tea bags as tea for me represents the need for sugar; hence the sad saga of cultivating sugar done by the enslaved to satisfy the sweet tooth of the Old and New Worlds. I only adhered the top of this tissue-thin paper and left the bottom free so it would have movement as a sail might in the wind.

It is my objective in all of my work to convey the transference of art and ideas over the vast ocean from Africa to the Americas keeping foremost in mind the history of enslavement. Having lived in West Africa for 10 years, I felt the energy and art of a People profoundly and it has never left my psyche.

SUSAN L. HARDY