Statement

The Dreamtime is inspired by the Aboriginal stories and visions of creation. Each braided pattern, carried by the students, is a map of the ancient universe, a topographical palimpsest of the world in pattern: valleys, mountains, forests, oceans, rivers, streams. The painter and the hair-braider lay down their marks like their predecessor creator beings, carving and inscribing, creating and being, in turn, created by their labor. These braid patterns are the language for the new aboriginal, the transplanted and de-territorialized nomad. In the age of GPS cell phones tracking movement and satellite surveillance with biometric scanning recognition, the modern day aboriginal wears his location like an image-text on his head.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Angel'

Angel

22" x 30"

Acrylic on Paper

2010

Additional info

Artwork will be exhibited as an Archival Pigment Print. The link to Dr. Ron Eglash's website on cornrow hair-braiding best details the mathematic content behind my hair and braid paintings. Professor Eglash's website called "Transformational geometry and iteration in cornrow hairstyles" outlines one aspect of his research in ethno-mathematics and cybernetics. Ethnomathematics "aims to study the diverse relationship between math and culture."
Image for entry 'Jose'

Jose

22" x 30"

Acrylic on Paper

2009

Additional info

Artwork will be exhibited as an Archival Pigment Print. The link to Dr. Ron Eglash's website on cornrow hair-braiding best details the mathematic content behind my hair and braid paintings. Professor Eglash's website called "Transformational geometry and iteration in cornrow hairstyles" outlines one aspect of his research in ethno-mathematics and cybernetics. Ethnomathematics "aims to study the diverse relationship between math and culture."