Blouse and Skirt, 2024

Blouse and Skirt, 2024

“Anansi is a wise spider god that originated in Akan mythology and has been passed down through many generations, making him just as popular in Jamaica and Cayman today. Canonically, he is smaller than his foes and must use his intellect and cunning to outsmart enemies that are otherwise too large to face head-on.

In my practice, the texture of my fabric animations conjures an image of woven threads, generational ideas spun by Anansi, whose ability to outsmart bigger foes is valuable in a neo-colonial world that continues to exploit the Afro-Caribbean diaspora.

Delivered as pieces of material to be viewed alongside a short film, ‘Blouse and Skirt’ explores the cosmic horror intrinsic to White Supremacy by posing it as an alien entity, using the language of West African fabric-making traditions (not limited to Fante Flags). When activated, the audience sees a woven speculative future through the cultural lens of a hypothetical black tribe. Inspired by Christina Sharpe’s ‘In the Wake: On Blackness and Being’, this piece aims to make clear that Black freedom and survival can exist forever, but so can White Supremacy if not properly faced.”