This 3.25 x 4 in. shield shaped patch features Kehinde Wiley’s 2012 painting Shantavia Bealle II. The painting features the model of the same name, with her elaborately coiffed hair nearly mirroring the size of her torso. The significance of hair as a cultural signifier and symbol of continuity within the Black experience is emphasized by the use of hair as an important decorative and unifying element throughout a number of Wiley’s paintings and sculptures. Black hair has been a key theme within Wiley’s oeuvre throughout his career, most notably in his 2001 Conspicuous Fraud series.

Dye-sublimation with olive green merrowed borders and an iron on backing.