I AM A FRAUD!Portrait cloth final piece
Beaded tambour embroidery on silk charmeuse
In these tambour embroidery pieces, I wanted to continue my senior work of exploring my lineage, upbringing experiences, and the African diaspora through textiles. This specific project, explores African portrait cloth, a West African traditional cloth that served as a ceremonial tool to express self-identity. My goal in this project is to design my own portrait cloth with my own expressions with the designs.
Beaded tambour embroidery on silk charmeuse
In these tambour embroidery pieces, I wanted to continue my senior work of exploring my lineage, upbringing experiences, and the African diaspora through textiles. This specific project, explores African portrait cloth, a West African traditional cloth that served as a ceremonial tool to express self-identity. My goal in this project is to design my own portrait cloth with my own expressions with the designs.
The portrait cloth was originally used with a batik wax resist process, but the arrival of the Dutch brought a new wax resist method that grew the possibilities of the cloth in terms of color, and with time these portrait clothes became more and more colorful. The new technique first arrived in Ghana, known for its vibrant arts, culture, and fashion, put its spin on the use of the technique. The portrait cloth is only a portion of this textile possibilities and a perfect example of the outcomes of the African Diaspora.
SAMPLES
Tambour with embroidery thread
MATERIALS:
red mingtree seed beads 11/0
6/0 mahogany coated glass seed beads
green glass bugle beads
czech glass beads 10/0 green
gold metallic 40 thread
fabric printing on silk charmeuse in print lab
REFERENCES
https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-life/fabric-of-the-african-diaspora
https://ashantiempress.com/blogs/news/history-of-african-wax-print-cloth
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-22369750