Running in the rain, falling in the ocean curated by Zachary Francois of Prelude Pointe Gallery highlights the art of fiber artists whose work explores color theory through the use of textiles. Using fiber art techniques originating from Black people these artists use textile making as a form of healing and meditation. The result of this multi-media exploration yield bold and extraordinary pieces.
This exhibition is the inaugural show in our new responsive gallery space, aimed at showing shorter-term exhibitions that are more responsive to our campus community.
Zami Aduna
Grief: 8-9 months old
Grief is a great friend. Dey don’t really like to talk, but say all dey need to.Even though Grief is ancient, dis version of dey body was built about 8 months ago. Before building their body, Grief gave me da following ingredients list: lavender, braiding hair, copper wire, thread, written messages(stuffed inside) and clothes gifted from someone who was no longer friends with me. It’s why i summoned Grief to begin with, to understand da shift between being connected with someone then just… not. i cried, dyed, wrote, ripped, cut,and sewed till Grief said “enough.” And i do these things all over when Grief says its time to visit again, mend again. In tending to my friend, i’ve sweetened my experience of lots of sour goodbyes. Grief don’t mind being close or visiting often, but gives very itchy and sharp hugs. It’s okay tho, da discomfort is a good reminder. So is da silence.
Artist Bio:
Zami Aduna
pronouns:
dey/dem
ki/kin
Zami Aduna is a 23 year old living in Maryland. Dey a student of death n growth, farmers n tailors, lies n love. Pieces shown r tools kin’s made to answer dey own questions. A copycat of nature n math, Zami takes whatever is around to build what dey need. These maps of memory and imagination are ever changing and transform (with) de artist. Thank you to all who make these processes possible. I’m grateful to be able to have made and to share these. If you want to help make these creative process easier for me or $end your feedback here are my paylinks:
cashapp: $rniang
venmo: @zamizami
Camisha Butler
Textiles are the silent, yet omnipresent companion of the human body. Life experiences can even be traced and documented through dress and decor. Fibers engage our lives on a daily basis, equally across race, class and nation, however, specifically, the Black American human-textile relationship is a sprawling tale steeped in lack, luxury, reclamation and identity. My work delves into this union through the utilization of craft as a means to preserve and honor familial lineage. As a bridge of remembrance to connect our past experiences to our future selves, I employ traditional craft methods such as embroidery, weaving, macrame and garment construction to tell the timeless stories of joy, resilience and self determination.
Artist Bio:
Camisha Butler is an emerging textile artist and craft preservationist, born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her BA in Film at Georgia State University and a MS in Fashion Design with concentration on Costume History from Drexel University. Her work explores the human-textile relationship as it applies to the Black American cultural experience. She utilizes “Craft as Resistance” and Neo-Luddite philosophy through textiles, fibers and digital design to engage the joyful recollection of our collective memory and fantasy. Her work has been shown at The Bakery, The Hambidge Center’s Cross Pollination Lab, the Reginald F Lewis Museum and on the tv series, Ambitions.
Faith Icecold
Faith Icecold is a non-degree Black multidisciplinary craftsperson from the planet Earth.
Cashay Johnson
In my rope pieces I am using a technique called coiling. Coiling is the process of wrapping a smaller linear material around another, larger linear material—periodically attaching it to itself to create a dimensional form. In this technique I make emotional decisions about colors and textures. However, using long and tedious processes, which is common for Textiles, is a form of meditation for me. I commit to this process because it challenged me and expressed time; teach me patience, endurance, and intense focus, which gives me strength and provides perspective on other, more difficult aspects of my life. I want the viewer to see my patience, my endurance, and my strength through these abstract pieces.
Artist Bio:
Cashay Johnson is a fiber artist based out of Atlanta, Georgia. She attended Georgia State University, where she fell in love with fiber arts. She finds inspiration in shapes, colors, and textures. “When I see a fabric or textiles material that interests me, I think of all the art I can make with it. She explores traditional techniques such as Coiling and Weaving. She fell in love with textiles her junior year of high school, when she took a fashion design class. She specializes in dyeing natural fibers, coiling, weaving, and designing digital patterns using photoshop. Most of her influence comes from her surrounding and her emotions. If you want to find more of Cashay Johnson’s work or what she will be up to, you can follow her on Instagram at cashh_aristry.
Kimani Johnson
Black sexuality has been politicized for centuries. In the Pre-Antebellum era, Black people had
no sexual sovereignty and were labeled as overtly sexual creatures. During the late 19th-century “respectability politics” surfaced within the Black community to combat this
stereotype. Originating in the church, these social rules by design embraced the ideas of gendered and sexual normativity created by the patriarchy specifically for feminine behavior.
Those who did not conform ( queer folk, sex workers, etc.) to these rules were viewed as setting back the community. Many notable Black feminist critics view pornography as violent and harmful to Black women’s bodies. I want to show how the pornography industry has been a space where Black erotic autonomy is embraced; a space that provides Black women agency in fabricating their own images and expressing their desires. I use mediums that are traditionally viewed as ‘women’s work’ such as quilting and weaving.
With quilting, I use found quilts whose history I am unaware of, similar to the women in these images whose pasts are also anonymous. These naked women then appliqued on top of what appears to be your grandmother’s quilt creates a jarring juxtaposition. With weaving, I repurpose images that were intended for the male gaze to create unorthodox collages. My body of work is my ode to the Black women in porn who are resisting the system that disparages their worth, and a callback to the traditional structure of women’s work.
Artist Bio:
Kimani Johnson is an Atlanta-based artist who works with various textile media.Their artwork tells a story about their personal experience as a black and queer person. By focusing on techniques and materials, They make work that deals with self-documentation. The work tries to express this with the help of color theory and soft materials
