(de)constructed Artist Spotlight: Stephanie J. Woods
(de)constructed:
STEPHANIE J. WOODS
Stephanie J. Woods, What Glitters Ain’t Always Gold I. Family Photos Transferred onto Hand-Cut & Sewn Quilt Tops, Textile Foil, Heat Transfer Vinyl, Sharpie, Textile Paint, and Polished Furniture Vinyl, 5.5 x 5 feet x 8 inches
In the front window of the gallery, a curtain-like structure hangs from the wall on a small, barely visible curtain rod. The tapestry features layers of fabrics, photography, and hand-drawn elements in blacks, blues, and golds.
Stephanie J. Woods’ tapestry pieces emerged from a desire to preserve photos from old family albums. Enlargements from scans of the original photos are layered onto hand-sewn quilt tops the artist created with her mother.
The various colors of joined fabrics are desaturated and unified using a bleaching technique, so that the dye sublimation-transferred photographs can be seen more clearly over top of the quilts. The quilted structure is then laminated with a polished furniture vinyl, protecting the surface and giving the piece a more sculptural quality.
The deteriorated figures, gazing out at the viewer, are adorned with hand-drawn elements, like circles, arrows, and text. The colorful patches, hearts, flowers, and handwritten descriptions on blue lines give the piece a nostalgic and autobiographical quality, similar to that of a diary or yearbook. Markings draw attention to eyes, hands, body language, which brings into question the reality of figures frozen in performative positions for the camera. The nostalgia is further highlighted by the plastic surface, reminiscent of covered furnishings or the sleeves of photo albums.
“I often expand upon conversations shared with my family and friends to explore the identities of southern black Americans. I am interested specifically in our relationship to our cultural identity, hair, and psychological well-being. Through the use of textiles, photography, video and community-engaged projects, my multi-media works explore the cognitive effects of cultural assimilation and questions how performance is ingrained in identity.
…These works are influenced by domestic spaces that allude to the preservation and erasure of the figure. Generally, my photographs are transferred onto satin fabric, or hand made quilts, and upholstered inside of pre-existing utilitarian objects, or handmade made structures giving them a sculptural feel. ”
Stephanie J. Woods is a multimedia artist from Charlotte, NC, currently based in Albuquerque, NM, where she is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Art at UNM. Her work fuses a relationship between photography and fiber. Additionally, her passion for interdisciplinary practices and material language is evident through her collaborations and implementation of symbolic materials that examine performative behavior, domestic spaces, and alternative realities that reference Black American culture and her experiences growing up in the American South.
Woods' earned an MFA in New Media Sculpture and is the recipient of several residencies and fellowships, including Black Rock Senegal, the Fine Arts Work Center fellowship, ACRE Residency, the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists Residency, and Penland School of Craft. Her work is featured in the permanent collection at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, located in Richmond, VA. She has also exhibited her work at Smack Mellon, located in Brooklyn, NY, and Tiger Strikes Asteroid, also located in Brooklyn, NY. Additionally, her work has been featured in BOMB Magazine, Art Papers, Burnaway, and the Boston Art Review.
(de)constructed will be on view at Candela Gallery through February 19, 2022.