Jeffrey Gibson

Jeffrey Gibson tackles issues of North American colonialism and postcolonial mindsets by focusing on materiality, human agency, and Indigenous and Queer activism in his artwork. In this piece, dried gourds, glass beads, and sinew reference powwow regalia, but in a contemporized form and scale. Gibson uses porcupine quills on the sleeves and also incorporates fabric printed with a quill pattern on the ground. The electric palette of neon oranges, yellows, pinks, and greens draws from Gibson’s Mississippi Choctaw and Cherokee heritage, as well as from 1980s and 1990s Queer culture. The repeated text on the front body of the garment, “Stand Your Ground,” references American state policies that give residents the right to use guns when feeling threatened.

-Yukti Agarwal, Brown/RISD Dual Degree 2024, Contemplative Studies/Textiles/THAD