Name/Title
Bee KeeperEntry/Object ID
2023.31.02Artwork Details
Medium
Photo transfer, acrylic paint, fabric, on found woodContext
From artist's website: The portrait is of her grandmother Bibi, a local bee keeper and guardian of stories. Strauss "explores family mythology and the oral tradition - how (r)evolution is embodied in the women of the African diaspora through storytelling, song and the naming of children - traversing language, geographic location and time. [...] Natural honey comb and bees pay homage to the bee-keepers among the women in my family as well as reference the significance of bees in African diasporic spiritual practices. Combining Tanzanian traditional art techniques of wood burning and woodcarving with photo-transfer and painting, the work serves as a reminder that we can call on ancestral wisdom and our legacy of revolutionary women to guide us and give us strength."