Fine-art giclée reproduction printed on premium matte paper.
Unframed · £4.95 UK delivery · £30 US delivery.
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"Because why has a long tail..."
If you grew up in an African household, there's a reasonable chance you've heard this expression. It's the sort of thing a parent says when you've asked one too many questions, and they're not particularly interested in negotiating. Essentially, it means, "Because I said so." And there's no arguing with that.
My mother used to say it to me all the time. I spent much of my childhood completely baffled by it. In fact, I don't think I understood what she meant until I was well into my teens.
This painting didn't begin with that memory, though. It started as an experiment in contrast: thick, angular black acrylic layered with brilliant neon rose pink. I wanted to introduce some calm, so I added soft blush pink and white, before deciding it all looked a little too well behaved.
More colour followed. A flash of blue, a fluorescent pink drip, and a heavy black horizontal stroke whose accidental drips I liked so much that I made them a deliberate feature.
Then came the stitching. I wanted something unexpected in the painting's quieter half, so I introduced a sweeping arc of black waxed thread. A beautiful piece of vibrant pink-and-black West African fabric found its way into the composition, and I stitched over it, finishing with a braided tail of electric blue-and-black cord. And suddenly, there it was.
Because y Has a Long Tail.
A phrase I'd heard hundreds of times, finally finding its way into something I could see. The little braided tail had quite literally given the expression a shape. I named this piece in honour of my mother because it's bright, bold, vibrant, and witty, just like her.
And, as it turns out, she was right; why does have a long tail!
