Exhibition Guide

Scattered shards surround this sculpture, suggesting the aftermath of a collision. Artemis / Bast joins two deities associated with protection, fertility, and the moon: the body of Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt, and the head of Bast (also known as Bastet), the more ancient Egyptian cat goddess. The black feline head sits atop the white plaster body, asserting Africa as a vital source of knowledge across the ancient world.

The sculpture counters narratives that erased Africa’s cultural contributions. Instead, a picture of global antiquity with Africa at the center of encounter and coexistence emerges. Artemis / Bast first appeared in Panta Rhei: A Gallery of Ancient Classical Art, a 1992 show of Fred Wilson’s work at his former New York City gallery, Metro Pictures. This early installation critiqued and parodied the patriarchal, Eurocentric biases in museum displays of antiquity.

That same year, The Contemporary organized Wilson’s Mining the Museum exhibition at what is now the Maryland Center for History and Culture in Baltimore (then the Maryland Historical Society). That groundbreaking project, in which Wilson reorganized the historical museum’s collections to reveal the erased presence and historical contributions of Black and Native American Marylanders, as well as the material culture of slavery, inspired decades of innovative and community-centered curatorial practice, with special impact in Baltimore.