Mtoto Kauri is one of a few pieces in a mini-series of mixed-media paintings by Jay Golding highlighting the Dan, (also called Gio or Yakuba) an ethnolinguistic group of people inhabiting the mountainous west-central Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and adjacent areas of Liberia. The Dan belongs to the Southern branch of the Mande linguistic subgroup of the Niger-Congo language family. The Dan people are known for the small dark hardwood masks they make, which are sometimes made by other local groups to be used in important rituals. Medium: Acrylic, cowrie shells and paper towel on linen.

Jay Golding

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Jay Golding’s figurative paintings and drawings evoke mythology, migration, and interconnectedness, creating literal and symbolic layers employed by vibrant palettes in acrylics and oils, sometimes incorporating collaged or impastoed elements. Golding’s emphasis on tribal cultures within his work, often infuses Caribbean and African cultural motifs allowing him to draw parallels between various communities–expressed by his masked figures and other fictional characters such as the purple-skinned beings from the village “Maji ya bluu”, which is Swahili for blue water. Golding frequently signs his work under the pseudonym Kwame, a name he donned after visiting Ghana in 2019 with his family. He cites his trip to the West African nation as well as Mexico as being life changing and having profound effects on his work.