Torkwase of OyoFrom the Artist To see is to know. But how can we know the unseenthe histories, the stories, or the names of a people that were undocumented or erased? I asked myself that question late one evening as I looked at the sun setting behind the hills on the Bay of Portobelo on the Caribbean coast of Panama. The view from my studio faces the ruins of a dock that was, at one time, the first encounter with Tierra Firme for many weary, shackled, and enslaved

Sometimes this is done using a diptych or triptych format

an animal masquerade and dance tradition dating back to the time of African slavery in the 17th century

These are images of extreme situations: nature in a violent and destructive manifestation and a city

African diasporic culture

31 x 46 inches

The composition moves between documentary and symbol

specifically

occasionally I end up with mismatches (usually because I get up early in the morning and get dressed while it is yet dark

and Triangular Weeze IV being a smaller edition of 14

the stories

Working in egg tempera

The silkscreen process suits the work well