Ship Of Fools 2017

Kehinde Wiley’s 2017 painting, *Ship of Fools,* depicts four black men in a small boat, tossed about by a stormy sea. A large tree, seemingly growing from the boat's floor, is in the middle of the scene. The painting is a powerful commentary on the challenges faced by black people in a world that often feels like a raging sea. The piece alludes to Hieronymous Bosch’s iconic painting *Ship of Fools*, a 16th-century masterpiece, and presents a contemporary version of the concept of *ship of fools,* a historical concept referring to a ship carrying fools, a metaphor for the folly of humanity. Wiley's version reimagines the narrative through a contemporary lens and centers the experience of Black men.