Artist Lauren Halsey was commissioned to create a bold relief sculpture for the inauguration of the David Geffen Galleries. Installed in a space currently titled Life and Afterlife: Imagery of Early Egypt, the work fills the entire north wall of the room.
The gallery is devoted to early Egyptian creation stories, a complex hierarchy of deities, and funerary traditions. The Egyptians drew upon their immediate surroundings for the imagery populating their myths and personifying their deities—including circling hawks, gentle domestic cows, and long-necked ibis standing in irrigated fields. Much of what we know about ancient Egyptians is derived from their burial practices and equipment, which were considered essential for the maintenance of a successful afterlife.
Halsey captures her immediate environment in much the same way: through careful observation of her surroundings, including the hand-lettered business signs, storefront murals, graffiti, and symbols of her neighborhood, a practice that lies at the heart of her work. On her carved reliefs, faces of South Central community members, including her mother, brother, mentors, and neighborhood organizers, replace the faces of ancient deities. Afrofuturistic iconography—such as references to the “Mothership” transporting individuals to a spaceship with a beam of light, altered sphinxes, and Egyptianized figures—frames her vision rather than a strict archaeological revival.
