LaKela Brown

LaKela Brown creates relief sculptures that draw on the iconography of 1990s hip-hop culture while evoking historical forms of relief, like cuneiform tablets. Featuring gold “door knocker” hoop earrings most prominently throughout her work, Brown conveys themes surrounding the empowerment of women and coming of age. Her plaster blocks, which sometimes show symbols of pharaohs and Nefertiti, have been likened to ancient hieroglyphs and other artifacts popularized by Egyptian culture. A professor at Rhode Island School of Design, Brown received a BFA from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and has participated in solo and group exhibitions globally, including at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts. In addition to her use of gold jewelry, Brown also works with materials including gold-capped teeth, chain necklaces, and chickenheads, as shown in notable works like Composition of Doorknocker Earrings and Hand with Ropes, Chickenheads, and Pharaoh Heads (2018).