Saffronia

Date: 2017

Object Type: Photograph

Material/Technique: pigment print, archival; paper, German etching paper

Dimensions: 39 3/8 H x 51 1/8 W in

Accession No: 2020.2.2

Credit Line: Courtesy of the Artist and Mariane Ibrahim

Credit Line: Museum Purchase

Description: Ayana V. Jackson’s work focuses on ways in which Black women have been represented historically and might be represented differently in the present. Saffronia is part of Jackson's 2017 series Intimate Justice in the Stolen Moment, in which the artist addressed the history of images of Black women in 19th century photography and painting. Jackson imagined what it would have looked like if there were historic images of Black women represented in moments of leisure, repose, or pleasure. The photographs are carefully staged self-portraits, and Saffronia is particularly striking in capturing the subject-artist’s direct, questioning gaze. There's also a rich layering of references in this image, from Edouard Manet's Olympia (1863) to Nina Simone's song "Four Women" (1966). The latter tells the stories of four different African American women. Saffronia is one of them, her name an allusion to the yellow color of saffron, which stands in for the character’s mixed race heritage.

Exhibitions: Bare It All, Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, 08/27/2026 [RE]POSE: Leisure Bodies and Empowered Postures, Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, 07/29/2024 - 12/07/2024 Art is a Superpower!, Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, 05/20/2021 - 07/31/2021

Series/Portfolio: edition 3/8