Virginia Tyler

Artist Statement Abena Duffee is 14 years old. She had to stop school at 7th grade to work to support her family. Abena breaks granite stone by hand using a small sledgehammer. At 14, she is expected to break 4 pans of stones per day, approximately 480 lbs. Ten HoursÕ Work for Abena shows the amount of granite she must break, the sledge hammer she must break it with, and the pan she uses to measure it. A LifetimeÕs Work for Abena Duffee shows how much rock she will have to break in the next 5 decades of her life. At 24, the physical peak for a stonebreaker, she will be expected to break 720 - 800 lbs. per day. Between 34 and 64 she will break approximately 600 lbs. per day until she can retire. For further information, please contact Gallery Manager, Alessandra Duarte at (212) 367-8994, or soho20@verizon.net

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