“Signed, titled and dated verso: “”Gbagba Eartha – African Diva, 2011 MR Vendryes””. Mblo Eartha (featuring Eartha Kitt wearing a Mblo buffalo mask) is a work from the artist’s African Diva Project, which explores the role of gender in African cultures and in contemporary society. Each square canvas is modeled after an LP cover featuring a Black female music legend wearing an African tribal mask. While these masks are traditionally danced by men – even when representing female deities or ancestors – Vendryes uses them to empower the divas, giving these dynamic female performers agency and protection by replacing their psychological masks with literal ones.”