This sculptural work by Esmaa Mohamoud is part of the artist’s du-rag series. The du-rag (alternately spelled doo-rag, do-rag, dew rag, either with or without a hyphen) is a long-standing, staple fashion accessory within Black male culture. As a practical accessory, it helps maintains hairstyles. Yet, like other head coverings in a range of cultures, it has also become a signifier of cultural pride, and is frequently vilified by structurally racist dress codes that prohibit the wearing of items like du-rags, hajibs, turbans, or bandanas.

Mohamoud mobilizes the du-rag as a symbol to examine race and gender, joining two du-rags together in a physical manifestation of Black male interconnectedness.

Her first manifestation of this imagery was in a monumental photographic mural commissioned by The Brotherhood FUBU (For Us, By Us). That image foregrounded two men standing in Lake Ontario, joined by their double du-rag, both physically, and in a way somehow metaphysically.

Other manifestations of the du-rag series, such as this intimately-scaled sculpture, show the absence of a wearer, suggesting notions of erasure and invisibility.

Says Mohamoud about this series, “Ultimately my goal is to address ideas of Black intimacy and vulnerability in a way that highlights both the closeness and the fragility of Black men.”