For the 12th episode of AW CLASSROOM, we interview Jamaican-Canadian artist Tau Lewis about her self-taught journey and how she intentionally creates doll-like sculptures to embody spirit and connect to her ancestors.
Tau Lewis (b. 1993, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) employs arduous methods such as hand sewing, carving, and assemblage to build intricate sculptural portraits and quilts. A self-taught artist, her practice is rooted in healing personal, collective, and historical traumas through labour. The materiality of Lewis’ work is often informed by her surrounding environment: she constructs out of found, gathered, and recycled materials from Toronto, New York, and outside of her family's home in Negril, Jamaica. The transformative act of repurposing these materials recalls practices of resourcefulness in diasporic contexts; upcycling is a recuperative act that reclaims both agency and memory. The portraits themselves reference both individuals in Lewis’ community and imagined ancestors. Lewis will be included in 2021 exhibitions at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell; Prospect 5, New Orleans; Haus der Kunst, Munich; and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
Follow her work at: @taulewis on IG
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This episode was edited by AW intern, Abe Centeno.
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