When I was in 6th grade, one of my teachers came in with a computer bag crocheted entirely out of single-use plastic grocery bags. I spent the evening researching this new material: plarn. I found patterns and videos detailing how to crochet with this waste generated by consumerism. While I knew it wouldn't solve the problem overall, I tried over and over again to create beautiful things out of plarn.
In the summer of 2024, I decided to test my ability to manipulate this material. Is it possible to make a lightweight version of plarn? I brought out a small tapestry loom, my drop spindle, and a grocery bag sitting in my kitchen cupboard. Magically, spinning strips of the plastic made a beautiful weaving.
Experimental sculpture depicting a series of couch cushions turned flotation devices. Fabricated for Kelley-Ann Lindo's "Residue" exhibition at SPACES.
Encompassing both the Oracle and Gund Galleries, Residue consists of nearly 30 works ranging from sculpture, prints, textiles, and video. Exploring the artist's family history and hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, Residue brings into question the excavation of memory, mining personal archives, colonial echoes in the Caribbean, and the tensions between domestic interiors and architectural facades. The exhibition’s title repositions the term “residue” to cherish what remains rather than the negative connotations of tarnished or stained. The “residue” becomes a compass to help navigate the path forward.
The colors of the Oracle Gallery evoke commonly used house paint in Jamaica, specifically, those manufactured locally by Berger Paints Jamaica Ltd. — one of the largest monopolies on the island — which has its “colourful beginnings in 1760” and has operated in Jamaica since the mid-20th century. Designed to be affordable and durable, the “Magicote” line of colors offers a limited palette, resulting in color pairings that may seem odd outside of the Carribean.
The tapestries, textiles, and hair brushes evoke the intimacy of the domestic interior. The repeated use of imagery suggests a kind of personal iconography: portraits of loved ones, horses, and athleticism can be seen throughout the galleries. The artist’s father, grandfather, and uncle appear in multiple works based on a photographic reference, which remains some of the only images Lindo has left of her family. In exploring what has been lost in the family archives, a narrative of immigration, nostalgia, and collective memories unfolds.
Acetate prints and gifted yarn, fabric, and thread on repurposed produce bag. thread on found fabric.
48 x 36 " each
Why We Breathe combines visual art and experimental music in a wholly collaborative work. A shared work between nine artists and musicians, visual art provides a setting for the live performance.
Set pieces were inspired by practice sessions, interviews with the musicians, and input from the other visual artists in the nine-piece cohort.
Altar: ink, on paper. found lavender, mugwort, rose, yarrow, rock, buckeye, feather, bottle, candles. gifted jewelry. Mom and Papi's coffee table, Grandma's crocheted blankets, Abuela's rug.
Wall (left to right): chalk pastel and ink on paper. gifted thread and yarn. letter from Ale. oil on wooden board. acrylic, crochet, and embroidery on gifted fabric. oil on palette paper. letter from Maria Elena. gifted frames.
Inspired by the ongoing relationship I hold with the land, with family, and with individual and shared memory, I use fiber, book arts, painting, and writing to better understand how a work lives on through story and memory.
Influenced by family traditions, stories, and the concrete relationships that I hold with others, I try to work with gifted, scrap, and natural material as much as possible. In this way, I am constantly anticipating the lifetime of my work: the disintegration of fiber, the fading of pigment, or the loss in language. Just as materials are gifted to me, I also imagine how I can consciously and intentionally gift these materials in return. This method of making allows me to better understand the source of my work--by using found materials or those given to me, a finished piece will include contributions from many individuals in this growing community. This practice is understood as the creation of my own gift economy--a network of relationships built on mutual responsibility and understanding, ones built on sustainability rather than transaction.
My finished work focuses on texture, inviting viewers to touch and interact with the work as deeply as I have within the creation process. Inviting others more fully into the relationship I hold with my work allows viewers to evaluate their own relationship with their own communities. Each project pushes me into greater awareness of the impact that art holds in all aspects of life. As I learn new techniques and work with new people, I am finding new ways to tell stories about land, about people, and about knowing and working in true community.
A Study of Story Quilting // A Portrait of Peninsula, 2021
Oil, embroidery, weaving, crochet, and quilting on found + gifted fabric and yarn
36 x 36" each
A Study of Story Quilting:
How might intergenerational knowledge, experience, and storytelling be remembered through creative expression, especially in the practice of quilting?
Art making and creative expression remains a central part of everyday life and in important part of maintaining intergenerational memory. In the Black tradition, the story quilt has remained a symbol of freedom, community, and Black women's leadership. During the time of enslavement, story quilts were used to code paths out of the South towards freedom; a multi-use object, they were also used to document the memories and development within a family. During and after the Great Migration, story quilting remained a relevant and central tradition to Black families, especially Black women; as relatives continued to tell stories while teaching younger generations about the quilting process, individuals became aware of their own personal histories and their own agency. In this way, the story quilt is a symbol and object of freedom in the Black experience. Remaining connected to inherited knowledge and holding a listening ear to the work of one's ancestors can ensure that the same learnings are passed on and understood in years to come.
Using almost every fiber process I know, this piece is a visual representation of the knowledge passed to me from ancestors, elders, friends, family, and community partners; this quilt is how agrarian history can be told and remembered. An affirmation of many types of learned knowledge, this project might become an example for others looking for a way to connect deeply with physical place and their own cultural identity.
A Portrait of Peninsula:
This piece focuses on the ongoing relationship that individuals hold with federally preserved land. This series of painted and quilted panels documents the existence three communities before the creation of the Cuyahoga Valley National Parks: the Indigenous communities before settler presence, the Black community in Peninsula, OH during the early 20th century, and the community living in the area during the 1970s as the park was created. The displacement of these people, especially as they intertwine with Ohio's significant history of transportation, remains evident in the current environment. By creating a textural work that addresses the life of this place, viewers will be able to touch and interact with the work just like how they might interact with the park. In this way, viewers are invited into a deeper evaluation with their own relationship to the earth.
Created as a part of the first iteration of the Boston Activation Project: a cohort of five artists brought together to more fully bring the history of the land into the visitor experience of the Cuyahoga Valley National Parks in Peninsula, OH.
Inspired by the communal home of a beehive, this piece explores the meaning of self-sustained relationship and collaboration. Within each opening of this sculptural work is a place to put notes, food, keepsakes, etc. that one might like to share with others in a shared space. As this work might be replicated and grow, Beehive inspires viewers to consider how they build and maintain community.
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