The topic of the piece was selected by Amnesty International for this selected exhibit. It depicts the son of Haile Selassie, Crown PrinceAmha Selassie.

The piece is a collaboration with Wes Hicks, who assembled the wooden structure and painted parts that have a primitive-motif. Wes is also the person responsible for leaving burning candles unattended on the piece which caused the piece to catch on fire the afternoon before the auction. I nailed a cow leg-bone (visible to the right of the portrait) over the charred area, and no one ever guessed that the fire was an accident. The piece sold during the auction and was featured in the accompanying catalog, but I don't know who won the piece.

A photograph of this piece was also featured Art in America in the fall of 1987 (citation to be supplemented).

Here's an amusing side note: Wes Hicks -- ever the creative one when it comes to resources -- put the blaze out with the only liquid he could find in the studio that day: LEMONADE! Hey, it worked!