Forty-four, Twenty-two

24x30 in. Woodcut on coventry rag. 2024.

Abstract

4,422 liters. 75 Igbo people who protested and chose the unpredictability of the sea over the futures predetermined for them by the Europeans. The Igbo people were sold out to become slaves in a new land; to construct an entire society that their immediate descendants would be barred from and in which the next generations would be discriminated against.

Forty-four, Twenty-two looks at this story from the perspective of the ocean. As such a large body of water, this significant moment is made miniscule. As a result of their actions, the ocean is displaced by 4,422 liters in comparison to the sextillion liters it is comprised of. Small waves in a big ocean. But to those around them, their forebearers, their friends that were left behind, and the generations after them that were choked out as they chose death over being slaves, their actions were a tsunami.

The print depicts the moments of hope before death, where for a few seconds they were free.