She explores African American racial identity by creating works inspired by the pre-Civil War American South.

In reviving the 18th-century technique, Walker tells shocking historic narratives of slavery and ethnic stereotypes.

I didnt want a completely passive viewer, she says.

Read on to discover five of Walkers most famous works.

Here are five Kara Walker artworks you should know.

However, a closer look at the other characters reveals graphic depictions of sex and violence.

And the assumption would be that, well, times changed and we’ve moved on.

But this is the underlying mythology… And we buy into it.

I mean, whiteness is just as artificial a construct as blackness is.

InDarkytown Rebellion, she projected colored light over her silhouetted figures, accentuating the terrifying aspects of the scene.

The light even allowed the viewers shadows to interact with Walkers cast of cut-out characters.

By merging black and white with color, Walker links the past to the present.

Walker made a gigantic, sugar-coated, sphinx-like sculpture of a woman inside Brooklyn’s now-demolished Domino Sugar Factory.

The incredible installation was made from 330 styrofoam blocks and 40 tons of sugar.

As a response to the buildings history, the giant work represents a racist stereotype of the mammy.

The process was dangerous and often resulted in the loss of some workers limbs, and even their lives.

The Domino Sugar Factory is doing a large part of the work, says Walker of the piece.

It references the artists 2016 residency at the American Academy in Rome.

While in Italy, she saw numerous examples ofRenaissanceandBaroqueart.

Two African American figuresmale and femaleframe the center panel on the left and the right.

Rendered in white against a dark background, Walker is able to reveal more detail than her previous silhouettes.

The figures have accentuated features, such as prominent brows and enlarged lips and noses.

In the three-panel work, Walker juxtaposes the silhouette’s beauty with scenes of violence and exploitation.

The piece also highlights the connection between the oppressed slaves and the figures that profited from them.

Its inspired by theVictoria Memorialthat sits in front of Buckingham Palace, London.