Ebony G. Patterson,“...the wailing...guides us home...and there is a bellying on the land...,” 2021. Image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago
In an interview featured in T Magazine, Lovia Gyarkye speaks with Jamaican artist Ebony G. Patterson about her recent show “…when the cuts erupt…the garden rings…and the warning is a wailing…,” which is currently on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art San José. The artist delves into one of the works on view, explaining how the tapestry's colorful materials and floral imagery purposefully grab the viewer's attention. However, the beauty of her work hides a larger vision of trauma and violence, and Patterson uses this aesthetic as a larger metaphor for postcolonial states. The artist continues to challenge her audiences and invites them to question the beauty and extravagance that surrounds the depictions of our nation.
"All this beauty conceals trauma and violence. The hands are a reminder that something is not quite right, and that the past is never far behind the surface of what we see." - Ebony G. Patterson
Comments