Aida Muluneh recognizes the raw power of the camera to document and give agency to the people upon whom it focuses. In the "Spirit of Sisterhood" she draws our attention to women of the diaspora, emphasizing the links and disjunctures between generations, commemorating the sorrows and celebrating the victories of their lives. Her subjects convey graceful yet strong approaches to the challenges of life. Muluneh states that she hopes her work will "foster an appreciation for artistic expression among traditional African cultures and assist in changing perceptions about people of color throughout the world."
Description:
Black and white photograph showing two young women facing front and peering through a diaphanous veil that covers their heads and shoulders. Their faces are bisected both vertically and horizontally with a series of white dots.
Provenance:
Aida Muluneh, New York, 2000 to 2004
Exhibition History:
Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue - From the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, November 7, 2014-January 24, 2016
Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, May 2-October 5, 2003
Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 3-December 7, 2003
Love Now, Black History Month National Photography Exhibit at Nordstrom's Department Stores, 2003
Published References:
Harney, Elizabeth. 2003. Ethiopian Passages: Contemporary Art from the Diaspora. London: Philip Wilson; Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 80, 82, pl. 20.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen and Adrienne L. Childs (eds). 2014. Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue from the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 71, 86, no. 55, pl. 27.
Content Statement:
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