I have three solo shows in 2023 focused on this theme.
Despite the growing commitment to racial equity, the day-to-day experiences of women of color are not improving. Women of color face similar types and frequencies of microaggressions as they did two years ago – and they remain far more likely than white women to face disrespectful and “othering” behavior.
The weight of these triggers underpins very real consequences… stress, anger, frustration, self-doubt and ultimately feelings of powerlessness and invisibility. These triggers come with a hefty toll of emotional baggage.
Extensions of rope, wrapped, knotted, woven, and embellished with recycled textiles, zip ties, ribbon and yarn, gingerly invite the audience into off the-wall conversations about the “respectability politics” of black hair. My Emotional Baggage Carts are vessels for this racial trauma. The act of making, weaves the sting of daily microaggressions into the cart, freeing me from these constraints.
Exhibition Dates: July 1, 2023- September 17, 2023
Location: The Lab at Krasl Art Center. 707 Lake Blvd, St Joseph, MI
Politics of Hair: Camo Yellow January 2020, Cotton rope, wool, acrylic and reflective yarns, recycled sari thread, satin and cotton ribbons. 65 x 8 x 5 in
Dark matter takes up an estimated 25% of the vast universe. It is not observable through the human senses. In the darkness of space, its presence is detected by its interaction with gravity and its mass bending light around it, similar to refracted distortions in water. It is an uncomfortable truth that so much exists in our reality, yet so much is beyond our perception.
Like light revealing dark matter in space, the artists in the exhibition use the physicality of their work to present unrepresentable realities and experiences. The artists offer a range of engagement, from providing comfort to illustrating society’s harmful, unacknowledged ills that impact groups differently.
Each artist in DARK MATTER brings personal and systemic concerns to the foreground. By starting with the intangible, the artists render perceptible the dark matter of society.
DARK MATTER features artists Kevin Claiborne, Turiya Magadlela, Jamel Robinson, Nnorom Samuel, Theda Sandiford, Rudy Shepherd, Jairo Sosa, and Roscoè B. Thické III on view Tuesday, January 10th to Saturday, February 11th, with a reception on Friday, January 13th, 2023. Mark your calendar for a performance by Rudy Shepherd takes on Saturday, January 21st, and on Thursday, February 2nd, a special program with Art Noir.
Exhibition Dates: January 13- February 11, 2023
Location: Kates- Ferri Projects, 561 Grand St, New York, NY
A hybrid of the words for “china” and “money,” chaney is the porcelain shards found in the soil after a hard rain and washed up on the beaches of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
I found this shard in The Gut, the riverbed on my property that runs down the Blue Mountain out to the Salt River estuary.
Ceramics, broken in symbolic acts of destruction by slaves, is a symbol of colonial resistance.
I wonder if the tourists buying chaney repurposed into jewellery are aware of the sociopolitical postcolonial critique of colonization and slavery.
For now, I will keep collecting chaney until It is ready to find it’s way into my work….
I have quite a bit lined up for 2023 , including three solo shows, a return to Governors Island, Fiber Art’s Excellence in Fibers and the group show Dark Matter in LES. There is so much to look forward to in 2023.
My Emotional Baggage Carts were featured in New York Times article as one of the inventive examples of designers upcycling and turning FreshDirect plastic totes into trendy accessories and art.
ArtNet News even mentioned my Emotional Baggage Carts sculpture series, addressing the pressures of the pandemic that produced such a surplus of Fresh Direct delivery bags in the first place.
Bottle caps, neon yellow 550 paracord, 200′ neon yellow camo 850 paracord, hollow braided polyurethane rope, solar LED rope lights, recycled Fresh Direct bag and commercial fishing net, zip ties, gold spray paint on recovered shopping cart. Photo by April Tracey
Thank you Hoboken Girl for the shout out as one of the 23 Hoboken + Jersey City Women to Watch in 2023. It is an honor to be included amongst this cohort of diverse, extraordinary business owners and community leaders.