Black Maiden, In Veil of Lavender and Lilac
Medium: Slip-cast porcelain ceramics
Dimensions: 15.5” x 12.5” x 8”
Year: 2021
Commissioned by the American Craft Council
Photography by Pedro Wazzan
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In "Black Maiden, In Veil of Lavender and Lilac," 2021, Doucet draws inspiration from his ancestral homeland Haiti, the world's first Black Republic. His figurative bust is embellished with various indigenous flora and fauna found throughout the Caribbean. It pays homage to the French Rococo style of architecture and décor found throughout the region.
Merging magical realism and trompe-l'œil, Doucet creates moments of whimsical surprise and the illusion of motion and drama. The embellishment operates as a white veil of spiritual transformation, modesty, and humility, a trait Haitian women carry. The figure's expression borrows from the Ife sculptural tradition in West Africa, using curved hand lines on the face as a symbol of beatification and power.
"Black Maiden, In Veil of Lavender and Lilac" builds upon Doucet's 2013 "Oneiric" series, a body of work exploring ideas of double consciousness, assimilation, and identity; works in the series depict dream-like hybrid figures in states of dreaming while examining themes of beauty and the grotesque.