A throne encased by quilts, panels of beadwork, and stacks of books greets visitors at Seattle Art Museum’s newest exhibition, “Walk a Mile in My Dreams” — a summative collection of Joyce J. Scott’s career in multi-media art, fashion, and activism.
The largest exhibition of Scott’s works today, the exhibition is broken up into 11 thematic sections, starting with an homage to her family and ancestry.
The direct descendant of sharecroppers, Scott takes you through an unblinking, yet dazzling journey centering Black voices to pinpoint + correct historical inaccuracies.
Meet some of the pieces
- “Three Generation Quilt I” | The 1980s patchwork quilt hosts painstakingly intricate stitching techniques to detail the familial passing down of skills.
- “Man Eating Watermelon” | Contrary to how it may sound, the beaded sculpture actually depicts a man crawling away from a carnivorous watermelon slice — a symbolic representation of the attempt to escape stereotypes.
- “Let’s Weave” | An interactive installation, this section lets you work on a community loom weaving — the results of which will be a communal art piece + souvenir of Scott’s visiting works.
Coated in blown glass, colorful beads, and trails of cotton thread, “Walk a Mile in My Dreams” lends viewers a peek into Scott’s beautiful and bitingly ironic perspective on racism and sexism.
“I’m a trickster,” says Scott with plenty of mirth. “I coax you into seeing different levels of it... you have to remember, if this is me now — you’re next.”
Want to encounter these pieces for yourself? Seattle Art Museum will be hosting “Walk a Mile in My Dreams” from Thursday, Oct. 17 until Sunday, Jan. 19.
