Johnson was raised in Chicago under the Afro-centric values of his parents, and the Anxious Men collection interweaves his childhood memories with references to African American intellectual history and cultural identity. The Anxious Men jewels are intended to act as talismans against the anxiety and torment that Johnson often experiences in the U.S. black community, or as he puts it, “The work is about a negotiation with fear, the awareness of its impact and an ability to illustrate those feelings.”
The Anxious Men jewellery series by Rashid Johnson x LIZWORKS is exclusively available at Carpenters Workshop Gallery.