Artwork Name: "What They Carried" - Hand Fist Chain
Edition: limited edition print
Medium: Front mounted acrylic print on metallic paper
Finish: Hanging mounts (ready to hang)
Size: 36x45 & 48x60 inch
Original Painting Size: 48x60 inch
Original Painting Created: 2025
This piece is a tribute to struggle — not as defeat, but as the gold hidden within the fire.
A clenched fist, bound in chains, rises from the canvas — a symbol of resistance, survival, and strength. Atop it, a child’s hand rests gently. It is not fighting — it is honoring. This moment between generations is quiet, yet powerful: a gesture of gratitude, a passing of legacy, and a reminder that the battles fought before us carved the space for something new.
The chains do not only represent oppression — they represent value. The struggle becomes the gold. It becomes the foundation. For me, this is personal. My great-great-grandfather in Sierra Leone defied colonial power, becoming a national hero, freeing his people, and planting seeds that grew through generations — through my father, through me, and into the art I create.
Though I was not born into the same struggle, I carry its story. And I honor its weight. This piece reminds us that the strength of those before us shapes who we become — and allows us to fight differently. The child does not need to clench a fist; they only need to remember.
Let this be a visual reminder that we do not run from our history. We rise because of it.