Interlacing West African weaving, European tapestry and Southern quilting, Brackens creates figurative narratives and cosmographic abstractions that merge commemoration, allegory and lived experience

Diedrick Brackens (born 1989) constructs intricately woven textiles that speak to the complexities of Black and queer identity in the United States. He foregrounds the loaded associations of cotton, which is enmeshed in the history of the transatlantic slave trade, and inscribes his weavings with symbolic materials and figures that probe the tangled threads of American history.
For darling divined, Brackens presents a selection of new and recent weavings. Their titles draw from poetry and literature by writers such as Essex Hemphill, a poet and activist known for openly addressing race, sexuality, the rise of HIV/AIDS and other issues affecting the queer African American community. This work was inspired by Hemphill’s poems, particularly “The Father, Son and Unholy Ghosts,” which speaks to the intricacies of familial relationships and the radical gesture of birthing one’s own identity. Brackens’ large-scale tapestries portray moments of intimacy between coupled beings, whether they be animals, lovers, relatives or friends.

 Foragers, by Summer Wheat, is currently on view at Mint Museum Uptown. This is Wheat's largest project to date (2020) with a monumental 96-panel "stained glass" installation which fills the four story windows in the Robert Haywood Morrison Atrium. This installation, which celebrates traditions of women craft-makers and providers throughout history, electrifies the large atrium space and is a "piece that is animated, that is kinetic, and not static" Mint Museum Chief Curator & Curator of contemporary Art, Jennifer Sudul Edwards, PhD says. 

This puzzle commemorates Wheat's monumental work and makes the perfect gift or coffee table addition! 

1,000 Pieces

19" x 26" finished puzzle size

10" x 8" x 2.25" box size