In these works, EVEWRIGHT subverts notions of worth and value imposed by the transatlantic slave trade and colonial subjugation. £££ Kissi Pennies $$$, 2023, is a series of sculptures and a conceptual currency whose title originates from the Kissi Penny, a West African currency which took the form of a thin iron bar flattened on one end with spiked splayed-out prongs on the other.
£££ Kissi Pennies $$$ were historically traded among the Gbandi, Kissi and Mandinka peoples, among others situated around the West African Atlantic coast. Alongside this status, Kissi Pennies were also used to adorn burial sites and thus gained religious connotations.
EVEWRIGHT’s £££ Kissi Pennies $$$ records the heritage of generations past, using everyday objects such as the afro comb and Dutch antique ornaments to create sculptures reminiscent of the Benin Bronzes (synonymous with contemporary Black pride and identity) and evocative of Africa’s indigenous wealth. Highlighted as one in seven artworks to see at this year's Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, these artwork works in symphony with this year's theme of art’s capacity to forge dialogues by Farshid Moussavi RA. Topics such as repatriation of African artefact to their homelands as well as financial reparations to the ancestors and descendants of slaves to the diaspora will raise discussions.
These sculptures or, as the artist calls them, 'coins' confront the notion of currency, and worth in relation to the value of human life and modern-day migration. As each £££ Kissi Penny $$$ artwork is sold, a fresh financial transaction takes place, releasing ‘THE COINS WITH SOUL’, an ancestor to be set free with hope by the artist.
