Jean-Marc Superville Sovak
Six of the first
2022
Installation generously supported by Tracy and Tony Weisman
laser-cut steel
86" x 48" x .125"
East Ferry Gardens, intersection of Conanicus and Narragansett Avenues, Jamestown RI 02835
GPS: 41.49602, -71.36712
July-October, 2022
About the work:
Six of the First is a monument to some of the earliest recorded Africans to have been brought to Newport County in 1743: six women named Yallah, Morandah, Mowoorie, Simboh, Burrah, and Yearie. Six of the First consists of a steel panel divided between an upper portion displaying the names of the six women as they were recorded, and a lower portion reproducing a 1688 print of the exile of Queen Mary and King James II, eponym of Jamestown. The faces from the print are replaced with masks from Sande society, a fellowship of women who traditionally prepared girls for adulthood in present-day Sierra Leone where the six women originated. This project includes this passage of the history of Jamestown's evolving communities.
about the artist:
Jean-Marc Superville Sovak is a multidisciplinary artist and teaching professional whose work is deeply rooted in the community around him. His current project, “a-Historical Landscapes” involves altering 19th-century landscape engravings to include images borrowed from contemporaneous Anti-Slavery publications. His public works include retracing speculative steps on the Underground Railroad at Wilderstein Historic Site and a memorial to Afro-Dutch pioneers in Rockland County.
A graduate of Bard College (MFA Film/Video), Jean-Marc’s art has been exhibited at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park, Manifesta 8 European Biennial, and ISCP in New York. Jean-Marc’s practice includes guest curating "We Wear the Mask: Race and Representation at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art. Jean-Marc is a Museum Educator and Guide at the Dia Art Foundation, and has been a Visiting Artist/Lecturer at SUNYNew Paltz, Ramapo College, Pratt Institute and Bard College, among numerous schools and universities.
