An artistic homage to Benjamin Franklin Patterson; the artist's great-great-grandfather. A freedom seeker and initiator of the new Patterson clan. He escaped slavery with his wife, son and daughter.
Run Nigger Run
40x40
wood, paper, acrylic, pyrography, twine and metal chain
A close up: pyrography and footprints
The noose
The red footprints depict the pain Benjamin Franklin Patterson went through to walk from the plantation he and his son were sold to, to the plantation where his wife and daughter remained, and to freedom. The noose is a reminder of the possibility of death by hanging that he and his family could have faced had they been caught. The metal chain around the middle of the work is a reminder of his bondage and life he left behind.
Video:
The artist reads the story of Benjamin Franklin Patterson's escape from slavery while pictures of his descendants move across the screen.
The slave song "Run Nigger Run" was sung by enslaved people to warn runners of the slave patrollers. The song's lyrics are burned, around the perimeter, into the wood. The artist uses pyrography to symbolize the branding or skin burning that happened to enslaved people.