Flesh of my Flesh, 1996, is one of a small number of photographic works created by Donald Rodney in the 18 months before his death in 1998 from sickle cell anaemia. The first and third panels of the triptych depict a knot of human hair photographed from different angles under an electron microscope, and the central panel focuses on a scar stretching across the artist’s thigh resulting from an operation. The work signifies a new type of engagement with photography in which the artist constructs an image of physical and psychological pain, using his own body as a metaphor to critique black masculinity.
The work was included in Donald Rodney’s last solo exhibition, Nine Night in Eldorado at the SLG.
