<I>Marie Elizabeth Venning, Fort Hill Plantation, Clemson University</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2023
name: label: Created by
content: Adebunmi Gbadebo, American, born 1992
notes: label: Caption
content: Marie Elizabeth Venning was created in response to the discovery of over 500 unmarked graves, including those of the enslaved, on Clemson University’s campus—formerly Fort Hill Plantation. Gbadebo crafted this vessel from clay gathered from the True Blue Plantation (where her own ancestors were enslaved) and hair from three contemporary African American women to represent the lives of the enslaved and the loss of their bodies to the acidic South Carolina soil. Marie Elizabeth Venning (1842–1915) was born enslaved on Fort Hill Plantation.
label: Description
content: An abstract mixed media sculpture by Adebunmi Gdabedo. The sculpture consists of a large, cylindrical ceramic vessel with human and ceramic locs attached along the back. The vessel is made with red clay hand dug from the True Blue Plantation in South Carolina and human hair from donors Cheryl Person, Ayana Evans, and Tiffany Freeman. It has a wide mouth and a concave, hollow belly. The locs extend several inches from the face of the vessel, and several are shaped at their base and ends by a waxy glaze. They are attached via metal wires that extend through to the interior. The back of the sculpture is bisected and features an internal clay bridge support.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Fort Motte, Calhoun County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Fort Hill, Clemson, Pickens County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Abstraction
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Communities
label: Topic
content: Craftsmanship
label: Topic
content: Education
label: Topic
content: Hair
label: Topic
content: Identity
label: Topic
content: Slavery
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2024.84
objectType: label: Type
content: sculptures
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Adebunmi Gbadebo
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: clay dug from True Blue Plantation, South Carolina with glaze, metal wire and black hair from Cheryl Person, Ayana Evans, and Tiffany Freeman
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 22 × 15 × 15 in. (55.9 × 38.1 × 38.1 cm)