- Created by
- Bailey, Radcliffe, American, 1968 - 2023
- Date
- 2000
- Medium
- mixed media : acrylic, resin, glitter, metallic paint, with oak leaf and photographic materials on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (sheet): 58 × 70 in. (147.3 × 177.8 cm)
- H x W x D (framed): 62 9/16 × 74 11/16 × 2 3/8 in. (158.9 × 189.7 × 6 cm)
- Caption
- “I find myself trying to deal with the history and the pains but also wanting to deal with the beauty. . . . I often work with layers, often with seven layers, because I never know when to finish, but a lot of the layers have to deal with some of the complexities with who we are, as well.” — Radcliffe Bailey
- Enroute is a multilayered exploration of memory, ancestral legacy, migration, and Black agency. It simultaneously references the route of the Middle Passage, where enslaved Africans traveled in bondage to the new world, the route on the underground railroad that enslaved people took in their quest for self-emancipation, and the great migration of Black southerners to major industrial northern cities to escape racial oppression and to pursue new opportunities and freedoms.
- Description
- A dense collage of paper and photographs mounted to paper with resin, all painted over in thick, swirling strokes of black, orange, ochre, and mint green acrylic paint. At the center of the artwork is a color photograph of a group of individuals aboard a dugout style boat on an open body of water. At each end of the boat is a figure standing and guiding the boat with poles. Other symbols and images throughout the artwork include train tracks, an oak leaf, the carved base of a chair, a statue figure, and pages with printed text.
- Classification
- Visual Arts
- Type
- collages
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Art
- Great Migration
- Identity
- Middle Passage
- Migrations
- Self-liberation
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Terry and Jennifer Weiss and family
- Object number
- 2014.305ab
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Radcliffe Bailey
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




