Assistant Professor in Fashion Design Precious Lovell recently exhibited her work in South Africa.
The exhibition entitled Words and Images was held at the Jack Heath Gallery in the Center for Visual Arts at the University of KwaZulu Natal, in Pietermaritzburg. It was a mixed media exhibition of paintings, quilts, beaded flags and garment art addressing issues including race, gender, identity, inequality and hypocrisy.
"My work is a recent reflection of a lifetime of experiences and observations. I express myself, much like a poet or songwriter through the art I create. My art raises questions and expresses opinions on issues including race, gender, identity, inequality, and hypocrisy. These are not new concepts, but they continue to plague all of us in one way or another. My work not only reflects my experience as a woman, of African descent, born and raised in the United States, but also how my experience changes depending on my location in the world." explained Lovell.
The International Conference on dress in Southern Africa first brought Lovell to South Africa. The conference was held on the local university campus in August 2005 and there she met conference organizer Dr. Juliette Leeb-du Toit, who invited her to bring an exhibition of her work to Pietermartzburg.
"How I am perceived in Qatar is very different from how I am perceived in my own country. Although I am considered to be a part of the educated class in Qatar, I identify more with the working class expatriates living there, as their experience is closer to the experience of most African Americans in the United States. When I portray my experiences through art, I feel like I am addressing the experiences of all disenfranchised peoples." added Lovell.
