Psyche, 2009-2011
Lithograph, thread
43 1/4 x 25 1/2 in. (109.9 x 64.8 cm)
Edition of 30
Printed and Published by Goya Contemporary / Goya-Girl Press
Big-0038-CO
Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing, 2021
Diptych made of pigment print on punctured piano paper
11 1/4 x 15 in. (28.57 x 38.1 cm) each
Variable edition of 20
Clar-1038-C
"Lift Every Voice and Sing" – often referred to as “the Black national anthem” in the United States – is a hymn written in 1900 as a poem by James Weldon Johnson, and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, for the anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Within this diptych, Clark uses repurposed, perforated piano paper to present the first verse of the lyrics which reads:
“Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won.”
The second panel repeats the verse using Sonya Clark’s font, invented by the artist using her own hair to shape each letter. At the turn of the 20th century, Johnson's lyrics eloquently captured the solemn yet hopeful appeal for the liberty of Black Americans. Clarks work, like much of her work, redresses history while pointing to the inequalities of the present day.
Hair Craft Project, 2014
Series of 11 pigment prints on archival paper
Paper size: 29 x 29 in. (73.7 x 73.7 cm) each
Image size: 26 x 26 in. (66 x 66 cm) each
Edition of 10
Clar-1048 - 1058-C
A Bushman's Tale, 2020
Archival pigment print
24 1/2 x 23 1/2 in. (62 x 59.7 cm)
Edition of 5
Published by Goya Contemporary / Goya-Girl Press
Smai-1368-C
Little Outbursts, 2020
Archival pigment print
24 1/2 x 23 1/2 in. (62 x 59.7 cm)
Edition of 5
Published by Goya Contemporary / Goya-Girl Press
Smai-1370-C