New Slavery Exhibit Opens at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum 

“What this exhibit says is that these people are tired,” said Hayes. “They’re out there, burning, and broken open, so you can look inside of them. Just imagine what happened inside.”  – Stephen Hayes, Artist

   Cash Crop, an installation by renowned artist and creator Stephen Hayes, recently opened at The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum (GBIW). The exhibit features 15 life-size sculptures of human figures cast in concrete and bound in chains and metal of the Atlantic slave trade. 

   An Opening Reception and Artist Gallery Talk was held at GBIW’s Mansion on Friday, February 9, 2024. The exhibit will remain on view through August 31, 2024.

   Noting that the museum has had wax figures exhibited in Florida for decades that are no longer welcome, GBIW co-founder Dr. Joanne Martin talked about Cash Crop. 

   “In February, I would be in Florida,” said Dr. Martin. “We were told they wouldn’t be bringing us back to Florida. But when you tell your story, uncompromisingly and unapologetically, things like that happen. Stephen Hayes and Cash Crop scream uncompromising, unapologetic, and I am thrilled to introduce to you Stephen.”

   Hayes said the concrete figures were cast from 15 of his family members and friends. The artist noted that the exhibit represents the 15 million African people forcefully brought to the Americas between 1540 and 1850.

   “A couple of them said ‘I would want to kill myself or try and kill somebody because I couldn’t imagine being in a hole of a ship for six or eight weeks, with no space of not knowing, obviously, the light of day, not being able to go into the bathroom when I wanted to, or not being able to eat’,” said Hayes when asked how those who posed for the casts felt about the experience.

   Hayes’ woodcuts and sculptures are made from materials that draw on social and economic themes ingrained in the history of America and African Americans. The concrete figures are connected to one another with shackles Hayes said he made from railroad tracks and other materials used for transporting goods from one place to another.

   “This body of work serves as a reflection of the past and a glimpse of our present,” said Hayes. “The rear of each model displays a map outline of the Brookes slave ship. The map outlines correspond to how slavery in the Americas was established, maintained, and provided economic wealth for Europeans.” 

   He added, “Through the mending of materials, this exhibition brings a new dynamic to the history of the slave trade for modern-day visitors. Cash Crop is not only about the transporting of people as commodities, but it is also about how America still benefits from outsourcing and sweatshop labor in developing countries.”

   Hayes is a native of North Carolina and earned his MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design. Cash Crop launched Hayes onto the international stage. The exhibition has toured for over a decade at prestigious museums including the African American Museum of Philadelphia. 

   The exhibit also includes an ingrained pallet and a wall display showcasing boxes he made by hand – each telling its own story of the slave transportation experience.

   “The pallet has a focus on it which is about capitalism,” said Hayes, highlighting that his pieces tell a harrowing story of gluttony and consumption. “What this exhibit says is that these people are tired. They’re out there, burning, and broken open, so you can look inside of them. Just imagine what happened inside.”

   Hayes is Professor of the Practice of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies at Duke University and a 2023 recipient of the coveted Black Rock Senegal Residency.

   Dr. Martin co-founded GBIW with her late husband Dr. Elmer Martin, the visionary behind the museum. Located at 1601-1603 E. North Avenue, the Museum is committed solely to the study and preservation of African American history, and its presentation of life-size, life-like wax figures highlights historical and contemporary personalities of African ancestry. 

   For more information about Cash Crop, exhibition hours, and more visit https://www.greatblacksinwax.org/exhibitions.