No Woman No Cry

• No Woman No Cry by Chris Ofili - 1998
• Medium: Oil paint, acrylic paint, graphite, polyester resin, printed paper, glitter, map pins and elephant dung on canvas
• Located in the Tate
• Description


  No Woman, No Cry is a very large, densely layered painting that depicts a crying woman set among various abstract patterns. The woman, who has dark hair and black skin and is shown in profile, is formed from a thin brown painted outline that is filled with many small dark brown circles.
• Influences 


  • It is a painting of which is in common with Ofili's distinctive oeuvre of exploring and interweaving different parts of identity yet also is heavily about maternal grief.
  • Metobo Hills - multiple dot decorations as "analogous to musical rhythms"
  • Afro-Carribean, Afro-American, Latino roots of hip-hop music
  • Stephen Lawrence case (Doreen Lawrence)
• Context


  Stephen Lawrence, a young black man murdered in the street and - in a landmark case - the Met Police admitting to the mishandling of their investigation. Ofili's painting is dedicated to, and represents the maternal grief of, Stephen's mother - Doreen, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon. (Labour MP of the House of Lords)
• Every tear in the painting contains a miniscule portrait of her son. The claustrophobia of grief may be indicated by the delicate pattern of dots that veil her.
• Splashes of tribal, fiery colour rages near her heart and yet she is still strong and dignified.
• Pyramidal composition
• The lyrics to Bob Marley's 'No Woman, No Cry' are picked out in coloured pins stuck into the balls of elephant dung at the painting's feet. Dung - symbolic of African pride, elevates the painting.
• The words 'RIP Stephan Lawrence' are written in phosphorescent paint barely discernable by day yet glowing by night.
• Details:


  • blue eye shadow, red lipstick, coloured bead necklace, pendant of elephant dung with map pins, vibrant red/orange chest with yellow flame-like edges.
  • Tears: pale blue, each with a small photograph of a boy's face at the center.
• Background: mixture of pale green and bright yellow, criss-crossed by circles forming diamond shapes, dotted lines with black heart shapes at diamond centers.
• Socio-political context


  • Reflects on Lawrence's parents' campaign for justice, leading to the Macpherson Report in 1999.
  • Report highlighted police incompetence and institutional racism, leading to legislative changes.
  • Ofili was inspired by Doreen Lawrence's transformation from grief to strength.
  • Reflects a shift in Ofili's style from abstract to focused depictions of individuals.
• Materials and processes


  • Painted on coarse linen canvas pre-primed, with additional layers of acrylic gesso primer.
  • Entire canvas covered in phosphorescent light green acrylic paint.
  • Patterns drawn in pencil, collaged circles added from a work by Bridget Riley.
  • Heart shapes and dots added using oil paint and rub-on transfers.
  • Polyester resin mixed with pigments poured onto the canvas.
  • Oil paint used for depicting the woman, beads, and chest colours.
• Artist's Statement:

  • Ofili aimed to create paintings where all layers coexist without hierarchy.
  • Each layer contributes to the final statement of the painting.
  • Reflects a philosophical approach to his artistic process.