Element of Sonya Clark, “The Hair Craft Project: Hairstylists with Sonya, Sonya Clark with Chaundra King” (2014), pigment print on archival paper (all photographs Liz Kim/Hyperallergic)
HOUSTON — Sonya Clark is likely to be finest recognized for her use of human hair as medium and image, however this mid-career exhibition at two venues redirects discourse round her work towards fiber and collaboration as a substitute. As an illustration, upstairs on the Houston Museum of African American Tradition (HMAAC), “The Hair Craft Project: Hairstylists with Sonya” (2014), a photographic collaboration between Clark and hairstylists that playfully depicts their braiding work on the artist’s hair, reinforces her assertion that hair is the unique fiber. Adjoining to the picture sequence, “The Beaded Prayers Project” (1998–ongoing) invitations contributors to create sealed cloth pockets with prayers written inside; examples of those have been collected and displayed on sq. panels organized throughout the gallery. Sewn and woven with gleaming beads, the intricacy of every prayer demonstrates the depth of its want. Collectively, these works emphasize Clark’s dedication to group engagement and the tactile, intimate nature of fiber.
Downstairs, cyanotypes on cloth created by workshop contributors are stitched collectively and draped throughout the ceiling to duplicate the night time sky in “Finding Freedom” (2019–20). Guests are handed UV flashlights that they will shine throughout the set up’s expanse to look at the constellations created through adverse exposures of seeds that dot every cloth like stars. Such a mission prompts viewers to think about themselves within the place of the African Individuals navigating the Underground Railroad, bringing historical past alive by means of empathy.
Sonya Clark, “The Beaded Prayers Project” (1998–ongoing), combined media
On the close by Houston Heart for Modern Craft, the primary gallery is all about collaborations in music and poetry. The subtitle of the present, “We Are Each Other,” comes from Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem “Paul Robeson” (1970), which is written out within the gallery in each Latin and “Twist” alphabets, the latter being a font Clark created in collaboration with graphic designer Bo Peng primarily based on the formal qualities of Black hair. A surreal violin bow constituted of a lock of Clark’s hair lies on the heart of the room, whereas a letterpress print of the lyrics to “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” a greater than century-old Black American hymn, asserts the tune’s materials presence. Jason Moran’s remastered recording of Regina Carter taking part in the tune with the bow resounds within the gallery on loop, making a soundscape that envelops the viewer in layered reflections on artwork’s position in sustaining hope and residing historical past.
Clark’s Monumental Fabric (2019) sequence is hauntingly visceral within the whiteness of its participatory supplies, together with textiles, crayons, and threads. The sequence represents the dismantling of the ideology behind the hateful Accomplice insurgent flag in favor of the peace and give up represented by the Accomplice flag of truce. Whether or not by means of the white crayon on black paper in “Lesson Plan (Confederate Truce Flag)” (2019), or the white threads that guests weave on the loom in “Reconstruction Exercise” (2019–ongoing), these distinct approaches to realizing the truce flag recommend that give up might be an intentional act of relinquishing energy constructions rooted in White supremacy.
The installations throughout the 2 establishments interact in a dynamic dialog, reflecting a collaborative curatorial effort. If whiteness is the theme of “Monumental Cloth” at HCCC, intense colours and textures are the theme of “The Beaded Prayer Project” at HMAAC. In distinction to the constellation of the artist’s hair on a white wall in “Constellations” (2022) on the former, “Finding Freedom” on the latter consists of clusters of black mild reacting on blue material in a darkened room. Throughout each areas, Clark’s work toggles between violence and affirmation to weave collectively a shared expertise of reflection and resilience.
Sonya Clark, “Scrolls from Reconstruction Exercise” (2019-ongoing), collaboratively handwoven linen Accomplice flag of truce
Sonya Clark, “1-877-OUR-CURL: Twist Key” (2022), letterpress print
Left: Sonya Clark, “Lesson Plan (Confederate Truce Flag)” (2019), faculty desks with laser-etched picture of the truce flag, black paper, white and crimson crayons; proper: Sonya Clark, “Finding Freedom” (2019–20), light-sensitive cyanotype cloth
Sonya Clark, “Constellations” (2022), artist’s hair
Sonya Clark, “The Hair Craft Project: Hairstylists with Sonya” (2014), pigment prints on archival paper
Sonya Clark: We Are Every Different continues on the Houston Heart for Modern Craft (4848 Essential Road, Houston, Texas) and the Houston Museum of African American Tradition (4807 Caroline Road, Houston, Texas) by means of April 16. The exhibition was co-organized by Cranbrook Artwork Museum, Excessive Museum of Artwork, Museum of Arts and Design and curated by John Guess Jr. and Sarah Darro.
