Je, Tukirudi?

“Je, Tukirudi?” means what if we went back, in the Swahili language. However, in my interpretation, “Je, Tukirudi?” means what if we went back to move forward?

This body of work is a celebration and exploration of traditional African body adornment practices focusing on the Kisii people of Kenya and their customs to inform new ideas in textile innovation.

Each woven construction embodies a unique persona while honoring, embracing, understanding, educating, and re-interpreting the beauty in scarification, extravagant hairdos, and beaded jewelry.

Through my practice, I create an environment for preserving these traditional practices through textile explorations that recreate the textures, shapes, and overall feeling experienced by the people—investigating classical African body adornment as a means of self-expression and aesthetic representation: recentering Blackness.