Low Tides

by Babette Wainwright

In Low Tides, Haitian-born artist Babette Wainwright used a pit-firing technique to honor both her own African ancestors and the ancestors of humankind who depended on this ancient approach of working with clay. Low Tides is often mistakenly seen as symbolizing the "Middle Passage" of African people who were stolen into slavery. However, the work is actually a metaphor of the exodus for the oppressed and the persecuted worldwide throughout history. "It is about a people's courage to risk death on unpredictable oceans in the pursuit of survival and dignity."