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Nari Ward: We the People - Exhibition

Presented by Fabric Workshop and Museum at Fabric Workshop and Museum

September 20-November 19, 2011

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The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) is pleased to present the debut of a new wall installation by Jamaican-born FWM artist-in-residence Nari Ward created for his exhibition We the People.

Nari Ward’s debut of his installation, also named We the People, transcribes the opening phrase of the United States Constitution on the museum wall using hand-dyed shoelaces. This new piece, made in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, will be displayed along with other prominent installations and sculptural works from Ward’s recent oeuvre, such as Glory (2004) and Airplane Tears (2005). Ward examines contemporary issues that include citizenship, cultural consumption, discrimination, materialism, and poverty, which reflects his experiences and observations growing up in Jamaica and his working life as an artist in Harlem. Composed of material collected from his urban neighborhood and the discards of consumerism, Ward’s art reveals the diverse emotions—from treasured to unwanted—inherent in everyday objects, serving as a link to personal connections and the ambiguity of language. His work focuses on awareness and understanding of such social themes through wordplay as well as juxtapositions of technology and other found objects.



IMAGES:

Nari Ward, “We the People,” 2011. In collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. Used and hand-dyed shoelaces. Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York, and Galleria Continua, San Gimignano – Italia / Beijing – China / Le Moulin – France. Photo Credit: Carlos Avendaño.



Nari Ward in the process of making “We the People,” Photo Credit: Carlos Avendaño.