God’s Child

Barbara Jones-Hogu was an artist, activist, and educator. She was a member of the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC), formed in 1967, and a founding member of the Coalition of Black Revolutionary Artists (COBRA), later renamed the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists (AFRICOBRA). Jones-Hogu created “God’s Child” in 2009, a period when she returned to printmaking for the first time since the 1970s. She adapted the figure from a family photograph of herself at about the age of ten, employing bright colors, disappearing and reappearing lines, and bubble-style lettering, all stylistically representative of her AfriCOBRA work. The text reads, from top to bottom and left to right: “Relate Relate God’s Child Relate Relate Relate Relate and So are You.” Jones-Hogu worked on the twelve-color screen print for nearly a year, collaborating with Chicago master printer Thomas Lucas at Hummingbird Press.