The present image is from Hank Willis Thomas’s signature Crossroads series. Working with fellow artist Sanford Biggers as a model, Thomas explores the complexities and ambiguities of race. Seeker features Biggers as a character modeled on Elegba, the Yoruba deity that represents the transitional point where the crossroads meet. In Thomas’s rendering, the figure is simultaneously black and white—neither wholly one nor the other, and seemingly possessing the attributes of darkness and light. In his characteristic fashion, Thomas employs a non-photographic material to accentuate the experience of looking at the work, in this case a selectively-filtering film laminate called Lumisty. When the photograph is viewed at an angle, it can be seen in sharp detail. However, when viewed straight on, the black and white tonal values mingle and merge, creating a blurred impression. The material creates an engagingly kinetic visual experience and manifests Thomas’s assertion that ‘where you’re standing affects what you interpret and your position on what you see.’
In 2023, Thomas was awarded the U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts. Created by the Art in Embassies program in 2012, the Medal of Arts award formally acknowledges artists who have played an exemplary role in advancing the U.S. Department of State’s mission to promote cultural diplomacy.
