Lauded American artist Titus Kaphar examines accepted historical narratives—both literally and metaphorically—through painting, sculpture and installation, “transforming styles and mediums with formal innovations to emphasise the physicality and dimensionality of the canvas and materials themselves” (Maruani Mercier). This work is a perfect example. A portrait of a traditional white eighteenth-century land owner (and therefore slave owner) is peeled away to reveal a magnified portrait of a Black woman, placing her at the centre of the image and story, and exposing the hidden narrative behind such figures and their wealth.
