Untitled

A tangle of bamboo, hair, coloured string, and fragments of vinyl LPs, this work by David Hammons evokes the aesthetic and symbolic world of traditional African headdresses and finery, and calls up both intimate (the hair) and familiar elements from African-American culture (jazz records) or pop culture.

Hewn from the sharp scraps of detritus gathered by the artist, it also presents itself as a trophy, a fetish, at once magnificent and threatening, poor and precious. David Hammons's practice is hybrid and subversive; it powerfully criticizes cultural and racial stereotypes and denounces the place of Black people in American and, more generally, Western culture.

This work was presented for the first time in 2021 by the Pinault Collection in the inaugural exhibition of the Bourse de Commerce, entitled "Ouverture".