Shaqui Reed’s work examines areas of imperfections expressed by irregularity, incompleteness, rawness, and simplicity. Her designs typically involve deconstructing, distressing, layering, and piecing together what is left behind. Her textile works speak of the color and texture of her fears.
Right: FOR THE CULTURE: HAIR BODY SUIT 2021 (Synthetic hair, metal hair clips, vinyl. Size 8 dress form)
Her fears are represented through the roughness of the denim and the different shades of blues. Her work uses repetition of pattern, line, shape, stitch work, and surface manipulation to narrate the juxtaposition of complexity and simplicity. Her love for denim translates
to exploring different shades of denim, textiles, lines, hand stitching, and patchwork.
Above Right and Bottom Center; INTERSECTION OF IDENTITY 2020 (Plastic barrettes, crystals, beads, denim,, lace, shoe strings and wood. Tee-Pee with hand-sewn embellishments, beading and found material. 6ft x 10 ft.
Transcending the conventions of learned experience as a fashion designer, Shaqui Reed explores new adventures within the definition of herself. Her current body of work explores cultural intersections as a source of her identity crisis. Her other works focus on the grooming process, routine, adorning and celebrating black pride through memories and shared experiences, and the use of hair, hair product, and hair ornaments. She uses the skin, applications, and the building of structures to come to a place of understanding self.
Connect with the artist: