Nikki Hanna

Call Me King Fish

BY Nikki Hanna
MEDIUM Mixed media -acrylics, modeling and clay sculpted relief intaglios

I create and sculpt clay Louisiana centric and Southern symbolic Intaglios. These pieces are hallmarks of regional identifiers or personal admirations. In“Call me King Fish,” I combined these admirations of relief imagery, sculpture and painting to create a suggestive narrative of Louisiana’s 40th Governor, Huey P. Long. Using the conceptual theme of visual idioms throughout, I play with morality and mortality in an animated fashion. My character identifies as a fictional Hero but also a Scoundrel, an a opinion shared by many during his Reign. Long was an over pronounced political figure. This suggestion is present in his over pronounced sculpted features. Sculpted clay intaglios are also fashionably adorned as symbolic attributes of Long’s career and bright pigments highlight his pomp and stature as a whimsical character. The use of all these elements helped to contribute to this playful homage of the multidimensional man known as the, “ King Fish.”