Sankofa Head with Oceanic Slab - Kate Murray

12" x 10" x 4"
Stoneware
The Sankofa bird is an African symbol, a bird facing backwards with an egg in its mouth, associated with the idea of learning from the past. I wanted to combine the symbolic idea along with highly graphic textures that often characterize African renditions, with the European Renaissance sculptural idea of adding a twist, motion through space. The bird's body exploded in the kiln, but the head with its egg remains.