Nadiri of the Suri Tribe Charcoal Drawing

20 x 24 inch charcoal drawing of Nadiri, a young unmarried girl from the Suri Tribe in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia. In real life she actually had an easy going personality that contained a decent amount of laughter and coy smiles. However when it was time to pose for art, she adopted this really contemplative facial expression that I appreciate. You can see many examples of scarring beautification on her, as well as an earlobe that shows evidence of a shift of traditions. Previously, Suri and Mursi tribe women wore lip plates to show devotion to the tribe, but the new generation is moving away from that tradition by placing the plates in their ear lobes instead.