Khemestry (Primary Title)
Sanford Biggers, American, born 1970 (Artist)
“It’s very much like history itself, a patchwork of experiences, perspectives, and reportage that attempt to construct a single narrative but these works recognize that history is always subject to time itself, and subsequently unfixed.” —Sanford Biggers
Drawing from the spiritual practices of ancient Egypt or Khemet, Biggers reintroduces the idea of “sacred geometry,” prevalent in murals of his cousin, legendary muralist and iconic figurative painter John Biggers, whose work explored the mystical power of Southern architecture, patterns found in quilts, and clothing worn by women.
In Khemestry, Sanford Biggers not only evokes the mysticism of the African American quilt as a power object or talisman, but also traces the long trajectory of this power back to ancient Egypt. Constructed as an exploding prism, the work is composed of cut pieces of vintage quilts affixed to birch wood structures. The exposed wood is then concealed with gold leaf, creating vibrantly textured wall reliefs that pulsate with pattern and color.
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