Work-in-Progress: Sacramento Knoxx
“Spirit Plate” is an immersive storytelling experience using music, video, moving images, with live performances and dancing. It's rooted in ancestral technology from Anishinaabe culture guided by the original indigenous sound of Waawiiyatanong (where the land and river bends) a.k.a. Detroit, Detroit techno and ghettotech, and Detroit hip hop soul and grit.
I mend the quilts and army blankets I collect. This honors their stories and restructures their form. My works are deeply personal and in mending them their creators are honored. The layering of quilts with army blankets represents the duality of their purpose, necessity and comfort. By hand stitching every piece I have found the process to be meditative. Influenced by Muslim Clerical garments, the chain stitch allows for a flexible workflow and caters to each fabric’s unique history. This practice grants the work an environment that encourages the audience to tap into their own memories.
In response to social isolation guidelines, Kresge Arts in Detroit asked Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients to give us a glimpse into their current and recent projects. Participating artists received stipends of $150, a quick response pivot of resources that could be implemented by the program as an immediate - albeit small level - of support to Detroit area artists.