Carrie Mae Weems

Gift of the photographer, 2000

By descent

Carrie Mae Weems (Fundación MAPFRE, 2022), pp. 230-1

Towering over 7 feet, the four monumental scrim panels that comprise Carrie Mae Weems’ Untitled (DNA Backs) from her landmark series The Jefferson Suite confront the viewer with poignancy and gravity. Created by Weems as a commentary on genetic research in relation to race, ethics and morality, The Jefferson Suite underscores the 1998 use of gene mapping advances, ultimately proving the genetic link between the descendants of Sally Hemings, the enslaved Black consort of Thomas Jefferson, and Jefferson’s own descendants, refuting beyond a doubt that anyone but Jefferson could have fathered all of Hemings children.

The letters emblazoned across each sitter’s back comprise ‘A, T, G, C’ – an acronym for the four types of bases found in the genetic sequence for a DNA molecule. Weems employs these compositional signals in order to emphasize the ramifications of the insatiable human quest to understand ourselves biologically, as we continue to seek humanity’s origins at the expense of racial equality and social justice, giving way to racist classifications and eugenics. The sitters never reveal their faces, heightening the anonymity and universality of the truths Weems imparts.

The Jefferson Suite comprises  18 banners, includes images of Charles Darwin, a portrayal of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, and a portrayal of Jefferson and Hemings (in which Weems casts herself as Hemings), each subverting a “genetic truth”. In its initial presentation, The Jefferson Suite’s panels were hung rhythmically throughout a room, inviting the viewer to engage the images physically as well as visually, while an audio track played in the background, which includes spoken narration, and an original musical score by composer James Newton.

As Weems wrote of the series, "I want to make things that are beautiful, seductive, formally challenging and culturally meaningful. I'm also committed to radical social change... Any form of human injustice moves me deeply - the battle against all forms of oppression keeps me going and keeps me focused."

This is the first time that work from The Jefferson Suite has appeared at auction. Another panel from the series is in the collection of The Santa Barbara Museum of Art.