Redbone Color Bone China Rags

This art piece by Juana Valdes draws on the artist’s own experiences of migration as a darker skinned Afro-Cuban woman to address issues of race, gender, labor, class and colorism in the African Diaspora. The rag shape of the ceramic sculptures represent the intersection of skin tone, gendered labor, and class by creating a visual representation of domestic work.

Displayed together, the 15 pieces are arranged horizontally from light to dark, the balance skewing towards lighter hues as a representation of colorism. The intentional sections of thick or missing pigment on the surface of the rags symbolize skin in different stages of deterioration due to age or hard labor.

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Redbone Color China Rags

Bone china porcelain, fired 1234c

12 x 15 x 4 in. (average size)