Aziza Claudia Gibson-Hunter

Lives and works in Washington, DC, USA

Artist statement

Gri Gris for the First Wave of the Third Millennium An Installation I began this project in 2019 as a proposal for a solo exhibition that was to take place at the Hillyer gallery in Washington DC. My proposal was chosen, and the exhibition was to take place in October of 2020. The tentative title for the show was Gri Gris for the First Wave of the Third Millennium. A gri gri is a talisman, that is stuffed with spiritual text. I wanted mine to have not only texts, but spiritual stones and healing plants that offer protection and inspiration. Upon pondering the future of my people (African Americans), I had ascertained that creating gri gris would be a timely project. COVID-19 hit, and the show was cancelled. Then Mr. Floyd was murdered. I sat in my dark studio in the quiet trying to grapple with the magnitude of the disease, its consequences, and the numb feeling of having yet another, of my people murdered. Creating the gri gris was providing me with a sense of joy, even hope…I decided they would be the elements for an expansive installation. Each of the pieces have sealed within them, at their backs, medicine to inspire, heal, and protect Black the people in the space they occupy I completed over 100 gri gris, which can be arranged site specifically. Each element is titled with the name of a Black musician, or a tune played by a Black musician. After family, friends, and art making, it is the music of my people that sustained me during COVID, and the toxic politics of the...

Artwork