James Bernard
Limited Edition Prints For Sale
Currently in Progress …
“Soldiers in the Army”
With a nod to the title of this iconic gospel anthem, “Soldiers in the Army” takes its inspiration from an old family photo - circa 1944, Cheraw South Carolina. Depicted in the picture are my grandmother, great grandmother, and great aunt, posing on the front porch before (or after) Sunday services.
As the primary inspiration for the piece, I have depicted them as warrior combatants on the front line of my family’s ancestral protection and strength. Wearing boxing gloves and donning African tribal masks, they create and maintain the hedge. A Haint blue porch ceiling, traditional bottle tree, and the bible held by my great grandmother combine to create a visual exclamation of the old and new world spiritual cosmologies that have shaped Black families with roots in the American South for the past 300 years.
The reflection of a tattered flag in the window framing the women points to the unraveling (and unfulfilled) promises of a country that neither accepted nor wanted us once we broke free of our chains … and yet we continue practicing fidelity to a country, showering it with love … even as it fails to fully love us in return.