A
native of Birmingham, Alabama, Lonnie Holley found his way into making art in
1979 when he volunteered to carve sandstone grave markers for family members
who had died in a fire. Two years later he brought examples of his carvings to
the attention of Richard Murray, director of the Birmingham Art Museum, who
introduced Holley’s work to national audiences. In the years that followed,
Holley developed both as a musician and a sculptor, using found materials to
create vivid constructions that reflect upon daily life and his deeply held
religious belief.

To Water You (Labor’s Drawer is Empty) typifies Holley’s powerful narratives and
visual poetry. The bottomless pail evokes the endless labor of drawing water, a
chore that has fallen to slaves and rural workers for many centuries, while the
string of shells that support the pail cascade down in a flowing stream.
However, the image also resonates with Old and New Testament meaning. In Isaiah
12:3, the prophet proclaims: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of
salvation,” while the title phrase “To Water You,” suggests the act of baptism,
a fundamental sacrament of the Christian faith.