Notes

In this work, Ramabulana depicts two seemingly conjoined figures, one carried upon the back of the other. The two heads, nearly identical with matching moustache and beard, merge into a single bodily form with one pair of legs. Only the two sets of arms remain differentiated, with one pair beneath the clothing and the arms of the supported figure, articulated at the elbow joint, extending over the shoulders in a gesture of hanging on. The work conveys ideas of physical support, of one figure literally carrying the other, but is also symbolically suggestive of other kinds of support, such as that received from one’s community or family.

See Lot 19 for artist biography.

Provenance

Donated by Trent Read