Jimmie Durham
image: (c) Maria Thereza Alves
Tlunh Datsi, 1985-1985
Sculpture
, 103 x 91 x 81 cm
Skull, feathers, turquoise, acrylic paint, shells, wood
*Tluhn Datsi* was one of the works exhibited in the first show called [*A Matter of Life and Death and Singing*](http://ensembles.mhka.be/events/386), in New York, 1985. In that period Jimmie Durham intentionally used ethnically coded references in his materials and vocabulary. *Tluhn datsi*, meaning “panther” in Cherokee, is made of a puma skull with shells, feathers and fur, resting on a wooden stand that says “POLICE DEPT”. Often asked about the question of identity in his work, Durham has said: “I’m accused, constantly, of making art about my own identity. I never have. I make art about the settler’s identity when I make political art. It’s not about my identity, it’s about the Americans’ identity.” [watch the video bellow]
