Trayvon
Trayvon defies easy categorization; it is a sculptural vessel that has both historical and contemporary resonances. Oral history revealed that McDowell’s great aunt was an enslaved potter in Jamaica and that she made face jugs, an ancestral connection that inspired the artist to pursue this form. It has become the starting point for his sculptures that memorialize influential Black figures, victims of brutality, and notable political and social leaders, and they often include incised names, quotes, life dates, and other activist messages.
Trayvon is a work that memorializes Trayvon Martin (1995-2012), a 17-yr old African American who was shot and killed as he walked home. His death sparked a national debate about racial profiling and social justice, resulting in The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to protest systemic racism and ant-Black violence. McDowell’s sculpture poignantly evokes the loss of life with a skull-shaped void in the vessel’s wall that reveals a small, raised ghost-like face on the interior. The cut out is defined by the rim that is threaded with a shoestring to represent the hoodie Trayvon Martin was wearing when he was murdered.
Trayvon is a work that memorializes Trayvon Martin (1995-2012), a 17-yr old African American who was shot and killed as he walked home. His death sparked a national debate about racial profiling and social justice, resulting in The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to protest systemic racism and ant-Black violence. McDowell’s sculpture poignantly evokes the loss of life with a skull-shaped void in the vessel’s wall that reveals a small, raised ghost-like face on the interior. The cut out is defined by the rim that is threaded with a shoestring to represent the hoodie Trayvon Martin was wearing when he was murdered.
Artwork Details
- Title: Trayvon
- Artist: Jim McDowell (American, born 1945)
- Date: 2013
- Medium: Stoneware, shoestring
- Dimensions: Height: 9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm)
Width: 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm) - Credit Line: Purchase, The Virginia and Leonard Marx Foundation Gift, 2025
- Object Number: 2025.935
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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