LaKela Brown Doorknocker Still Life Cluster with Eleven Golds, 2020 Plaster, foam, acrylic, and wood 33 × 45 × 3 inches Courtesy the artist, 56 Henry, New York; and Reyes LaKela Brown’s bas relief, Doorknocker Still Life Cluster with Eleven Golds (2020), is a monument to a feminine aesthetic within the early period of hip hop culture (late 1970s and 80s). These iconic earrings are large hoops, circular or trapezoidal in shape, often designed with a bamboo pattern or customized details such as the filigreed name of the wearer or precious stones. They were considered a luxury item and a singular form of self expression and adornment. The hoops became a fashion trend, not only with women rappers but with Black and Latina fans engaged with an aspirational hip hop lifestyle. Brown’s formal decisions, how she places these objects to recede and emerge at varying degrees within the relief, suggests an archeological site of excavation. Doorknockers is an extravagant display of jewelry which reveals a symbolic connection to cultural inheritance. Gold hoops and their adaptation as a status symbol originated thousands of years ago. Gold itself was considered sacred and hoop earrings were worn by both men and women as spiritual and sexual expression in both Nubia and Egypt as evidenced by Nubian artifacts and portrayals of ancient Egyptian royalty including Nefertiti, Cleopatra, and Tutankhamen. .... See Brown’s work and the work of so many amazing artists in person in my exhibition, Elegies: Still Lifes in Contemporary Art at the Museum of the African Diaspora and her new solo show at 105 Henry Street (second work is from her solo exhibition). See more work in situ in my stories👆🏾 @lakelabrown @moadsf #lakelabrown #moad #elegies #collardgreens #floralsforspringgroundbreaking