Photos by Alice Hale/The Collegian
By Taylor Jensen/entertainment editor
An exhibit displaying the complexities of life seen through an African-American woman’s eyes will be in SE Campus’ Art Corridor II until March 22.
SE curator Christopher Blay said the intricacies of artist Letitia Huckaby’s experiences and her carefully selected portals hold the exhibit Redress together.
“This exhibit makes reference to family, history, faith and tradition and gives insight into how the artist uses those elements to create her work,” he said.
Blay said that by using weathered frames and aged fabrics, Huckaby conjures up strong references to the past.
“Huckaby photographs then prints images onto fabric, which are then woven into quilted surfaces, forming a patchwork of that personal history,” he said.
Redress includes three projects Huckaby has created over the past five years. Daughters of God is a collection of photographs of the women in Huckaby’s family wearing a white dress, and The Dress Project is a collection of quilted and printed dresses made of fabrics that bear the history of the family.
Huckaby said Redress began several years ago before the passing of her grandmother, who created the dresses in the exhibit, and was inspired by the dependability of her family in Louisiana.
“Growing up an Army brat, my idea of what home is has become fluid and malleable,” she said. “The one constant was the family vacations to visit my extended family. Whether I was in Germany, Oklahoma, Indiana or Texas, Louisiana never changed.”
Huckaby said being a part of a large family dominated by strong women who both love and laugh hard reminded her she would always fit in somewhere.
“By photographing female family members all wearing the same dress, it is my intention to visually represent that indescribable tie that binds and honor them for simply being an integral part of my life,” she said. “It is that familial spirit, an ability to make do with whatever you have and a faith that anything is possible that I am trying to celebrate.”
Art Corridor II is open during campus hours. For more information, contact Blay at 817-515-3406.
