Description

In the 1990s, American artist Kara Walker became
well-known for using the visual language of the
silhouette—an historic form of portraiture popular
during the time of slavery in the United States—to
create large wall murals featuring imaginary stories
of the antebellum South. Her stories are based on
stereotypes of plantation life from novels like Gone

with the Wind, but with disturbing or unresolved
storylines. This group of etchings functions as
one story, titled sheet by sheet like chapters in a
historical romance novel: “The Beginning,” “The
Hunt,” “The Chase,” “The Plunge,” and
“The End.”
Designed to provoke viewers, Walker’s work has
induced powerful responses. Walker herself has
said, “Challenging and highlighting abusive power
dynamics in our culture is my goal; replicating them
is not.”