Hank Willis Thomas creates a skilful work fusion of inquiry and statements about origins within history. As a visionary artist and a forward thinker, Thomas, throughout his career, has consistently sought to situate his viewer in a position that requires more than just passive observation. Beyond just “looking at his work”, Thomas invites his viewers to contemplate the future and analyse the cultural climate we now live in through his work. The artist confronts concepts concerning Black history, influence, and identity via text, photography, and global icons and symbols.

Thomas’s observations shed light on concepts that may be well known but often passed over in silence. He leverages contemporary culture to create an artistic mirror for people to contemplate the issues impacting our society. Creating this mirror also challenges the viewer to come to terms with the truths that many people are often in denial about. Thomas isn’t afraid of sifting through annals of history to seek and reveal the truth to the viewer to cultivate a better platform for personal and societal understanding.

For AB7 Thomas will be presenting Lightsaber (Diamond) (2012), a work that highlights the visual tension between the sacred, the secular, mysticism, and references to science fiction. Made of African mahogany and plexiglass, the works operate on a number of registers, invoking a conceptual Rubik’s cube that gestures to the past, present and future.

Lightsaber, 2013
Colored plexiglass with stained African mahogany, 172.1 x 5.1 x 172.1 cm
© Hank Willis Thomas
Courtesy MARUANI MERCIER Gallery, Belgium