Spirit Line

Spirit Line

Part one on view at the St. Louis Swap Meet on Cherokee Street on Sunday, April 24th from 9am to 3pm.

Part two on view at The Luminary on Thursday, April 28th from 7 to 9pm.

For this two-part installation entitled Spirit Line, resident artist Byzantia Harlow will be presenting an installation within The Luminary and outdoors at the St. Louis Swap Meet exploring the commodification of Native American culture.

The work considers the journey we take, upon looking, between 'sightseer' and being 'implicated’.

Spirit Line is a term that relates to Native American weavings. The belief in a single thread of yarn connecting the center of a rug with an edge which purportedly allows the weaver’s spirit out of the rug to enable them to continue to create other rugs.

For this two-part installation, resident artist Byzantia Harlow will be presenting an installation within The Luminary and outdoors at the St. Louis Swap Meet exploring the commodification of Native American culture. Referencing Native American traditions including sand painting, mirror signaling, dream catchers and weaving, the installation will included a textile made in collaboration with a local weaver, Michael Jennrich. This eight shaft satin woven work incorporates iconographic dream images (expressed as emoticons) inspired by the dreams of people Byzantia has spoken to since arriving in St Louis. The textile also contains spiritual symbols from Native American cultures, which Michael Jennrich believes have been part of the human psyche for generations. The installation within The Luminary will also include sculptural elements and a site-specific work

For the Swap Meet, Byzantia will be presenting a ‘knock off’ version of the textile that will be printed on T-Shirts. Bridging the processes of production and distribution these T-Shirts will be exchanged with members’ of the public in return for them allowing her to photograph and record them recalling a transformative dream they have had.

The social and political aspects to these works pivot on points of value and authenticity, aspiration and desire - investigating branded spirituality, commodification of rituals, the unique object, the mass produced and cultural identity.

The project is supported using public funding by the Arts Council England and the British Council through the Artists' International Development Fund.