JE, TUKIRUDI?

“Je, Tukirudi?” means what if we went back, in the Swahili language. However, in my interpretation, “Je, Tukirudi?” means what if we went back to move forward? This body of work is a celebration and exploration of traditional African body adornment practices focusing on the Kisii people of Kenya and their customs to inform new ideas in textile innovation. Each woven construction embodies a unique persona while honoring, embracing, understanding, educating, and re-interpreting the beauty in scarification, extravagant hairdos, and beaded jewelry. Through my practice, I create an environment for preserving these traditional practices through textile explorations that recreate the textures, shapes, and overall feeling experienced by the people—investigating classical African body adornment as a means of self-expression and aesthetic representation: recentering Blackness.

Process

These hairy wovens are dobby and jacquard woven textiles that simulate traditional African body adornment as a means of self-expression. I investigate hair as a symbol, communication, activism and a medium. 1Traditions were kept alive using oral folklore. To ensure they are protected, they need to maintain their role in society. Using them as a guide in my work and as the names for the pieces, I aim to preserve and educate outsiders about dwindling customs. The square frame is essential in this work, even though it is often associated with traditional European paintings. However, the question posed metaphorically, is how to break away from the edges, definitions, titles, and stereotypes by disrupting the constraints and pressures of societal standards to re-establish what identity can become. The case study for this work is indicatively the Kisii people in the Kenyan society. Although, it would be foolish to say that the same misconceptions do not cross into other Black communities with similar perceptions worldwide. Today, textiles are used as the primary source of body adornment; we can use them as a chance to preserve the generational heritage and to re-connect with the oral preservation that is missing today.