Kara Walker – Theme for the Fons Americanus

Kara Walker’s Theme for the Fons Americanus (2021) is a signed limited edition print published by Tate on the occasion of Walker’s Hyundai Commission for the Turbine Hall, Fons Americanus (2 October 2019 to 7 February 2021). 

Conceived as a study for the 13-metre fountain-sculpture, the archival digital pigment offers a direct window into Walker’s working method: a staged, diagram-like composition that reads as both proposal and critique. The original installation was inspired by the Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace, but instead of glorifying imperial history, Walker subverts the language of public monuments to question narratives of power and to trace the interconnected histories of Africa, America, and Europe. Water operates as a central metaphor, linking imperialism and white supremacy to individual lives and collective trauma, while blending fact, fiction, and memory into a new Black Atlantic mythology. 

Published in 2021 as an edition of 80, each fine art print is hand-signed and numbered by the artist.

Kara Walker is an internationally acclaimed American contemporary artist, celebrated for her provocative and visually arresting explorations of race, gender, power, and identity. Born in 1969 in Stockton, California, she rose to prominence in the mid-1990s with her groundbreaking silhouette installations, collages, and prints. By reimagining the traditional 19th-century silhouette technique, Walker developed a radical visual language that continues to challenge historical narratives and expose the enduring impact of racism in American society.

At the core of Kara Walker's work are her cut-paper silhouettes, often life-sized and arranged in expansive narrative tableaux. While the silhouette was historically associated with genteel portraiture, Walker subverts the medium's decorative quality, transforming it into a tool for confronting the darkest aspects of U.S. history. Her stark black-and-white scenes depict unsettling images of slavery, violence, and exploitation, forcing viewers to engage with the uncomfortable truths that underpin the nation's collective memory.

Beyond her iconic silhouettes, Walker has expanded her practice to include collage, painting, drawing, printmaking, and large-scale installations. Her limited edition prints in particular demonstrate her exceptional technical mastery, as she explores the tension between delicacy and brutality through line, shadow, and composition. These artworks maintain the bold visual clarity of her silhouettes while deepening the psychological and historical resonance of her narratives.

Kara Walker's art is both visually stunning and conceptually challenging. Through her fearless approach, she continues to provoke dialogue on issues of race, gender, and systemic inequality, cementing her role as one of the most important voices in contemporary art. Her signed lithographs, etchings, and screenprints, whether monumental installations or intimate editions, invite viewers to grapple with history's legacies while reflecting on the complexities of identity in the present.