In 1972 I was a student at California College of the Arts (Oakland, CA). A requirement of the freshmen student’s core curriculum included sculpture. I researched for non European sources from which to begin my project and encountered wood carving from the maroons who had escaped slavery in the South American country of Suriname. Their wood carving reflected their West African origins but also new syncretic forms. Although it may have been my dream to actually visit the country it eventually receded in my mind to the point of being forgotten until 2016 when I was standing in front of a group of young people in the city of Moengo, Suriname.
