Here We Are explores race, gender, and identity through mixed media, collage, and portraiture. The artists featured focus on many facets that affect African American women, including the diaspora, family history, trauma, the need to hide, and the desire to be seen, and how this impacts their own individual identities.
Here We Are addresses the lines drawn between historically white spaces and black bodies and the necessity of code switching and identity masking. Artists touch on many issues, including, the conflicting forces of personal, familial and historical trauma; pride, fear, hope, and anger. Often forced into silencing their voices to succeed, black women are burdened with the notion they must find ways to make the white men and women around them more comfortable, at the expense of their own volition. Here We Are strides to address the dichotomy of forced silence, while highlighting a diverse group of artists with voices who cannot be ignored.
Due to Covid19, Dayton Society of Artists is presenting, Intertwined, a national juried exhibition of fiber arts, online. I am one of 32 fiber artists in the show. The diversity and quality of work is amazing.
Too bad we all sheltering in place and can’t visit in person. There is a lot of great art in this show. You can browse the catalog here.
I printed a high resolution image of my Wonder Woman mixed media work onto heavy rayon fabric and then went wild sewing trim, buttons, Pony Beads, mirrors, crystals, broken jewelry and recycled baby food bottle caps bringing this huge tapestry to life.
The tapestry was made during the summer of 2018 through a series of open studio sewing circle events where friends, friends of friends and strangers off the street turned up to help me sew. Prints are available.