Artist Print Series 021 - Addoley Dzegede

The 21st in our Artist Print Series.  Addoley Dzegede is a Ghanaian-American artist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her primary focus is questioning commonly held ideas about authenticity and belonging. She creates textile works in vibrant colors using screen printing, dyeing, and batik processes. She has primarily worked with textiles as a means of bridging seemingly distinct cultural traditions and practices.  She has found that a deeper look into textile histories reveals intertwined histories involving trade, mimicry, exploitation, and transitions from handmade processes to industrialized ones. For example, recent works use the language of wax print fabrics, originating in 19th-century attempts by Dutch manufacturers to imitate and mass-produce handmade Indonesian batiks. Inspired by color, cloth, and pattern as a means for conveying nuanced messages, Addoley examines the historical connections and entanglements lurking behind these and other seemingly innocuous decorative arti