Pindell/DNA, (Brandywine Portfolio: Forty Square Portfolio)

Howardena Pindell created 'Pindell/DNA' for the Forty Square Portfolio, which was made in commemoration of the Brandywine Workshop’s fortieth anniversary. Along with Camille Billops, Barbara Chase-Riboud, and Keith Morrison, she collaborated with master printers to produce a work that spoke of the pioneering creativity and rich diversity of the Brandywine institution. Here, Pindell includes silhouettes of hands, illustrations of DNA double helixes, and a photographic self-portrait to pay homage to her family ancestry. Upon making this print, she had received DNA research data that traced her family origins on her mother’s side back 80,000 years. By layering a variety of imagery, she expresses the complexity of her identity.