Figure of Color

Figure of Color, a bronze work by Tramaine de Senna from 2020, is located in Munthof in the centre of Antwerp. De Senna was inspired by questions of identity, trompe-l’oeil sculpture and pop culture. The title of the work refers to the English expression “person of color”, used mainly in the U.S. to describe non-white citizens. 

De Senna uses this title to highlight the political dimension of her work, as well as to foreground her use of colour as a symbolic carrier of meaning and emotion. As in her earlier works, she explores the possible transformations and ambiguous manifestations of body, identity and form. 

In Figure of Color, De Senna captures the layered nature of identity and the many ways in which we present – or hide – ourselves. The figure appears hyper-feminine with long flowing hair and flaring skirts, yet remains unknown: the face is always hidden, they are only ever seen from behind.  

It was the first time De Senna had worked with bronze. Her oeuvre previously consisted mainly of synthetics, textiles, ceramics and composites. For this sculpture, she used pigmented wax to give the patina of the bronze multiple shades of colour. These wax layers protect the bronze from the elements and define the appearance of this “colourful” figure. Over time, the wax fades and must be reapplied, at which point a new colour palette is chosen by the artist. 

Figure of Color was created in the context of the annual Publiek Figuur (Public Figure) project. After being on display for a year in the Stadspark, the sculpture was acquired for the Antwerp public art collection and given a permanent place in Munthof. 

Tramaine de Senna (b. 1981) was born in California, U.S.A., and lives and works in Antwerp. She is a laureate of the Hoger Instituut voor Schone Kunsten (HISK) in Ghent, Belgium. Before that, she studied architecture and art at the University of California – Berkeley, and visual arts at Sint Joost in Breda and ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.