Higher, Thy Will / Peace of Mind is a work that speaks to the intersection of community and identity. The subject, a friend of the artist's from California, is at the crest of her high-jump, her locs fall through the air as she is silhouetted against a pale blue background with light blue tropical leaves. Her teal uniform pops with a hot pink and blue hibiscus pattern and a yellow stripe, complemented by the black, green and yellow in her socks. At the peak of this triumph, Perez melts away the competitive environment and centers Black Presence, both physically and metaphorically with resilience and grace that success in track and field demands. Whether through the colors in the socks—the same shades as the Pan-African Flag designed by political activist and writer, Marcus Garvey in 1920, as well as the Jamaican and Guaynese flag's of the subject's heritage—or his characteristic melange of found cultural ephemera, this nod captures the artist's expanding references and rich communication of place. The artist has hand-embellished a portion of the edition with additional lino block prints collaged with magazine cutouts and painted elements, making each piece unique.
Na'ye Perez
Higher, Thy Will / Peace of Mind, 2022
18 x 19.5 inches
Archival pigment print
Limited edition of 15
Hand-embellished, signed, and numbered by the artist ($1050)
Limited edition of 20 with 5AP + 1PP
Signed and numbered by the artist
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