Rooted 

On View: August 19 through September 24, 2017 

Reception: Thursday, September 7, 4:00-5:30pm 

The A.D. Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of the work of renowned visual artist, Sonya Clark. Sonya Clark: Rooted reveals the artist's ongoing engagement with Black hair as a medium and a subject. The exhibit includes pieces that revel in cultural pride, artistry, heritage, and process. Throne, a salon chair tricked out in glass beads celebrates the site in which hair becomes a crowning glory. Stitched into combs is a quotation of one of America's first self-made women millionaires, Madam C.J. Walker. She speaks of her rise from the cotton fields of the South to her hair care enterprise. Also included are eleven photographs from Clark's Hair Craft Project in which her body became a canvas for several Richmond-based hairdressers to work their magic. Authorship is important here. Each hairdresser appears in the photographs as a presence bearing witness to her distinct creativity and craft. In another piece, evocatively, the artist replaces horsehair on a violin bow with a dreadlock formed from her own hair as if to remind us that despite ongoing racial tensions, there is a potential for harmony. 

For further information on the gallery, the exhibition, or the artist, please contact A.D. Gallery Director, Joseph Begnaud, at (910) 521-6405 or email joseph.begnaud@uncp.edu.   

This exhibition is free and open to the public. The A.D. Gallery is supported through University of North Carolina at Pembroke student activity fees. 

UNC Pembroke is committed to having an accessible campus for individuals with disabilities.  To request information regarding accessibility or for an  accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) please contact A.D. Gallery Director, Joseph Begnaud, at (910) 521-6405 or email joseph.begnaud@uncp.edu  at least 5 business days prior to the event. A good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations for requests made less than 5 business days in advance.