“Hagar’s Dress” personifies the African slave, handmaiden to Sarah, the wife of Abraham, whose son Ishmail became the progenitor of the Arabic people.
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“Through the lens of my experiences, I work intuitively, combining reflective and found materials to reimagine the spiritual memory that came with us from Africa to the Americas. I draw upon sociopolitical ideas and various histories using Afrocentric themes and creative methods to visually explore myth and memory. Familial and ancestral ties from Maryland, North Carolina, and the Caribbean have informed my ideas about rituals and their association with spirituality. My inspirations include gender issues, politics, and the Black experience.”

— Oletha DeVane