fruiting bodies
from group show Neo-psychedelia
at CAM (The Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh) // 2023 - 2024
fruiting body
“the spore-producing organ of a fungus, often seen as a mushroom or toadstool.”
- Oxford Languages
fungus
“organisms that survive by decomposing and absorbing nutrients in organic material such as soil or dead organisms.”
- National Geographic
“...there is simply no mode of empathy that can replicate the daily strain of knowing that as a black person you can be killed for simply being black…”
- Claudia Rankine, “The Conditions of Black Life is One of Mourning”
fruiting bodies is a series of three-dimensional, free-form, soft sculptures meticulously hand-crocheted by the artist. The majority of the yarn used in this collection is thoughtfully sourced from local farmers and crafters, skilled dyers, and second-hand stores in both North Carolina and Maine.
This work serves as an invitation to momentarily escape the hierarchical, eurocentric, patriarchal, heteronormative, capitalistic nightmare-scape that defines modern america. It beckons us to embrace softness and contemplate what might emerge from the dregs, detritus, death, and other byproducts of our contemporary society.
