Akuaba Sisters

Akuaba Sisters embodies the joy found in solidarity, serving as a potent reminder of the beauty, strength, and vitality of connection. This artwork is a cultural celebration of resilience and triumph within Black communities, symbolizing instances of happiness, pride, and cultural abundance in the lives of individuals of African descent. It stands as a testament to perseverance despite enduring challenges like systemic racism and discrimination throughout history and today

Four Bronze Akuaba sculptures (fertility symbols) standing on a piece of wood stump.

Process:
These bronze sculptures are crafted using the lost-wax casting process. First, I create a clay figurine model and then make a rubber mold from the clay figurines. From the rubber mold, I cast four wax models, meticulously cleaning each one of imperfections, modifying them, and transforming each into unique pieces. To make casting more efficient, I cut the wax figurines in two, then sprue the separate pieces and periodically dip them in a ceramic slip to form a ceramic shell around each half. The slip is allowed to dry between dipping, a process repeated about eight times to form a thick ceramic shell/mold.

The wax is then burned out of the ceramic shells in a kiln, which also hardens the molds. I pour hot, melted bronze into the hardened ceramic shells, and once the bronze has cooled overnight, the figurines are removed from the ceramic shells. After breaking the cast bronze pieces out of the mold, I clean them, weld the separate parts together, and correct any imperfections in the cast and welded bronze figurines.

The final step is applying different patinas to the cleaned bronze surfaces, using chemical treatments and heat to achieve various colors and finishes. I use all hot patinas, with specific treatments for each piece: a salmon patina with a liver of sulfur undercoat for the red piece, cupric nitrate with a birchwood casey undercoat for the turquoise piece, ferric nitrate for the brown piece, and an opaque yellow patina with a liver of sulfur undercoat. The patina is sealed with lacquer to protect and preserve the finish. The preparation of the surface of each piece is crucial to achieving the desired effects. These pieces are mounted on a carved tree stem

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