Photography fellow Joana Choumali explores ‘anthropology of clothing’

Thursday, June 4, 2020 - 09:11 in Paleontology & Archaeology

What happens when Western secondhand clothing and message T-shirts are imported to African consumers, many from less affluent classes? Joana Choumali, a Côte d’Ivoire-based artist noted for her work embroidering directly on photographs, will explore these questions and more, backed by a fellowship at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. As the 2020 Robert Gardner Fellow in Photography, Choumali will receive a $50,000 stipend to launch a project, followed by the publication of a book. Choumali plans to ground her fellowship in an “anthropology of clothing.” Her photographic and mixed-media project, “Yougou-Yougou” (Secondhand Clothing), will explore how imported Western clothing affects community identity and exposes inequalities created by colonial legacies, transnational trade, and global power relations. "Zebras Must Be Free," 2019; "Untitled," 2017. © Joana Choumali “Choumali starts with a traditionally flat medium and then layers thread and fabric to add dimension, texture, color, and new meaning.” — Ilisa Barbash, the Peabody Museum’s Curator of...

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