Asefi (enough daughters), Bernard Séjourné

Artwork Overview

Bernard Séjourné, Asefi (enough daughters)
Bernard Séjourné, Asefi (enough daughters)
Bernard Séjourné
Asefi (enough daughters)
1975
Bernard Séjourné, artist
1947–1994
Asefi (enough daughters), 1975
Where object was made: Haiti
Material/technique: paint; hardboard
Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 104 x 101 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 40 15/16 x 39 3/4 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 41 x 40 1/4 x 1 1/4 in
Credit line: Mary Lou Vansant Hughes Collection
Accession number: 2011.0323
On display: Michaelis Gallery
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Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
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Audio Description
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Audio Description
The artist is Bernard Sejourne, born 1947, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, died 1994, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The title of the work is Asefi (enough daughters), created in 1975, in Haiti. This work is made with paint on hardboard.
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Audio Description
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Audio Description
Asefi (enough daughters) is a three and a half foot square portrait of a dark-skinned Haitian woman who stares out at the viewer without expression. Her eyes are calm and her closed lips are relaxed. She seems to come forward from the gray background, her dark skin and white dress and head scarf creating a strong contrast. The border of the painting is black and arched across the top of the canvas Her dress, made of organdy or tightly pleated fine linen, is translucent. The dress has puffed sleeves and lies across her collarbone, accentuating her long, thin neck. An embroidered band across the top of the dress extends from one sleeve cap to the other. Tiny stitches outline loops that connect in a soft curving line. Her head scarf, also made of translucent linen or voile, is tied tightly across her brow. The cloth flares out to just above the top of her head, making a flat top with two points before it folds over the back. She wears small, simple gold loop earrings.
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The arched opening, eloquent geometry, and symmetrical representation of this portrait convey an aesthetic often found in religious works, a connection possibly befitting the young woman portrayed. Her elongated neck and facial features are reminiscent of Senegalese women in West Africa. Her name, Asefi, means “enough daughters” in Haitian Creole. Perhaps she is the last of many daughters in the family, or maybe her name symbolizes the disappointment her family feels after the birth of yet another girl. Her white blouse and head scarf may represent an impending spiritual journey, whether social (for instance, marriage) or religious. In Christianity, white is often associated with baptism; likewise, in the Vodou religion, worshippers and initiates wear white during ceremonies to demonstrate modesty and purity.