Transcript

KEHINDE WILEY: The birth of the show starts as the world shuts down. As we see George Floyd slain in the streets of America, I get to work, I start thinking not only about this explosive moment that triggers the whole world into thinking about Black bodies in a different way, but I start thinking about imaging of bodies slain, historically. I start digging into religious pictures of the fallen Christ.

ABRAM JACKSON: The form of this sculpture was inspired by a sixteenth century painting by Hans Holbein, that Wiley first saw around fifteen years ago. The painting shows a claustrophobic view of the dead Christ – as if we’re looking into his tomb from the side. Christ’s body is both utterly ordinary, and, because we know who it is, sacred, at the same time. Wiley was blown away by that image, and gives this bronze figure a similar sense both of the everyday, and the heroic.

KEHINDE WILEY: There's a tradition around the celebration of a life that happens in religious painting, that needs to be retold. There's so many opportunities now to talk about lost potential as a means to create a scaffolding for a better future.

ABRAM JACKSON: When you’re ready to move on from this gallery, go through the doorway to your left. Our next audio stop will be the bronze sculpture of a man, in the center of the room.

Image: Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977), “The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb (Babacar Mané),” 2021. Bronze and wooden frame with gold letters, 17 11/16 x 38 3/16 x 103 1/8 in., 623.9 lb. (45 x 97 x 262 cm, 283 kg). © Kehinde Wiley. Courtesy of Galerie Templon, Paris. Photo: Ugo Carmeni