Precious Lovell, artist exhibition The Fabric of Our Lives opens at the Hammonds House this month and runs through April 14th. Working with textiles Lovell explores the connection between cloth, clothing and the stories of the African Diaspora. The Ties That Bind exhibit is a personal one that comes directly from her women ancestors.
I asked Precious Lovell how she came to use fabric as the medium for her work. She speaks about women in her life, mothers and aunts all worked with textiles, from seamstresses to dry cleaners fabric was always a part of her life.
We spoke specifically about cloth and clothing in the African diaspora. Lovell shares that clothing is an integral part of every culture. From the weaving of Kente Cloth to the of Adinkra symbols many of the same motifs can be found wherever West Africans were taken during the slave trade. She speaks about countries in Africa and South America.
I asked Lovell about the new exhibition at the Hammonds House titled The Fabric of Our Lives which runs through April 14th. She speaks the creative expression of what was once known as the “domestic arts” and how that work has become devalued. She speaks about the newly freed washer women who knew the value of their work after enslavement often providing the first incomes for our community to enter the middle class.
The Ties That Bind is an art installation in honor of her maternal ancestors that includes a “modesty belt” made for each ancestor that she has discovered. She speaks about this article of clothing that was used across the continent.
For more information on Precious Lovell
For more information about The Hammonds House Museum