Description

As a sculptural fiber artist, my work exists figuratively, in full or often fragmented forms that speak to geographical histories, ancestry, ritual practices and community. Through installation, performance, and collaboration, these needle felted sculptures morph into a form of storytelling that expands the above themes, and reinterprets new ways to settle in our realities. I communicate stories that mirror the memories, complexities, and tenderness of Black people and our communities, by taking our collective histories and developing a larger story, to then offer a single moment within that narrative through my work. Whether it’s the hairstyles of my figures, the detailed and intentional gestures, language used in the title, or the iconography of our cultures, there are always special details, a visual coded language, that reminds my audience that this work is for and about them. The title of this work is intended to be read as a haiku, as poetry exists throughout the project. The performance unfolds as a youth-led parade that answers the question - how do we bring joy to our spaces? The collaborative parade navigates spaces of Black life, both past and present, while confronting the removal of life and space. We began at St. John’s Episcopal Church, one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad, and continued to Lakeview Terrace, one of the first public housing projects in the United States, and ended at Whiskey Island, the site where enslaved Africans boarded boats to Canada in search of freedom. These masks were created during workshops in Cleveland, which invited youth in varying neighborhoods to learn about wet and dry felting, make a take-away of their own, and see the progress of the parade masks. There were events where youth could view the full masks being dyed in indigo as well. This project focused on performance, education, and process.