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Sonya Clark

Hair Necklace 4 (Chain)
Now On View

Description

Maker

Sonya Clark (American, b. 1967)

Title

Hair Necklace 4 (Chain)

Year

2012

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

36 x 19 x 3.5 cm (14 3/16 x 7 1/2 x 1 3/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund

Object Number

2020.8

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 16: Intimacy

RISD Museum’s Manual 16 Embraces Intimacy

Intimacy reveals something deeply human in us. We need each other on a practical level, which means having to trust strangers. It’s analogous to what I understand prayer requires and what writing poems requires: an openness to the unknown, coupled with trust, a belief that we won’t be hurt. It’s at once akin to and the same as devotion.
-Carl Phillips

The RISD Museum’s sixteenth issue of Manual touches on the bonds of intimacy and its many expressions. This issue complements the exhibition Any distance between us, co-curated by Stephen Truax and Dominic Molon, on view at the RISD Museum through March 13, 2022.

Articles

Jewelry from the Decorative Arts and Design Collection

The American and European jewelry collection at the RISD Museum, part of the Decorative Arts and Design Department, is made up of more than 800 works, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings from the medieval period to present day.

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Art and Design from 1900 to Now
Jun 04, 2022 – Sep 01, 2026

Label copy

In this necklace made from copper and the Afro hair of family and friends, Sonya Clark signals the historically inseparable relationship of Black lives not just to the foundation of the United States, but to the explosive growth of the American economy. The materials Clark selected also negotiate a conversation with 19th-century hair jewelry, typically worn in memory of a deceased loved one. Hair Necklace 4 (Chain) references this historical practice while imploring the viewer to consider the value and exploitation of Black lives.

–Ahmari Benton, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet Fellow

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Image use

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This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Sonya Clark (American, b. 1967)
Hair Necklace 4 (Chain), 2012
Hair and copper
36 x 19 x 3.5 cm (14 3/16 x 7 1/2 x 1 3/8 inches)
Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund 2020.8

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