Tearz (Wu-Tang)
$ 1,200
Out of stock
About the artwork
Tearz (Wu-Tang) is the second piece in my ongoing series begun in 2017, ‘Flags Of Us.’ One of two representational pieces in my larger body of work, it is a meditation on the hypocrisy of America’s political history.
Substituting the red and white of the stripes with black and blue, I reference the themes of Blues music and its relation to African American pain and suffering. I also reference hip-hop, which looks into the disenfranchisement of Black people within the country’s urban landscape. Wu-Tang’s track ‘Tearz’ contextualizes the ‘dog-eat-dog’ mentality created by the damaging capitalistic systems affecting large swaths of urban Black neighborhoods in America.
By acknowledging these continuing struggles and the ongoing fight for equality, I pay homage to the many musicians, activists, visual artists, and public figures who have fought for basic human rights. In creating this flag piece, I intend to build upon conversations started by David Hammons’ African American Flag, which represents not only the nation’s divide but a strong racial pride.
About Tariku Shiferaw
Abstract forms, concrete references
“A meditation on the hypocrisy of America’s political history”
Tariku Shiferaw’s paintings, usually acrylic on plastic, speak a minimalist, formalist language but are very much infused with black culture; many of them are named after songs and musicians, such as Everything is Everything (Lauryn Hill), All Eyez on Me (...