About the Project

BLACK PURPLE BLOOM

BLACK PURPLE BLOOM is a traveling memorial tower created to honor the Black Womxn who have lost their lives to police brutality. Through the collaborative efforts of artist Jade Williams’ in-house team and workshop participants across the state, handmade commemorative blooms are used to raise awareness for victims whose cases are not getting adequate coverage.  The blooms created are dedicated to individual victims and are used in the embellishment of the tower. In tandem, the Tower will sprout in different locations across the city of Chicago--from the bases of removed confederate statues to populated plazas and walkways. By putting this memorial in high traffic areas, we increase awareness and visibility of these victims’ stories, while advocating for their justice.  This space was created as a means to recognize and honor the cultural practices and art forms that Black and Brown womxn and femmes have created. Many of these practices and rituals have been condemned, demeaned, and appropriated over centuries and it’s time that they be celebrated. To fully understand the premise of this pop-up event, one can look to the writings and teachings of Alice Walker as her words have been the foundation of The Black Bloom Project’s principles and they capture the very essence of the space. Kits will be sold or donated with all needed materials needed to create sculptural blossoms to contribute to the project. Proceeds from the kits will be donated to a charity which seeks justice for women.

About the Artist

Jade Williams

Using the illusionary aesthetics of afrofuturism, extraterrestrials, and the 1970’s/80’s, my work addresses the themes of access, excess, escapism, and visibility in relation to the Black female body. Each piece is a manifestation of the obsessive energies of my materials--featuring repetitive patterns, reflective surfaces, and traditional embellishment techniques embedded in a myriad of contemporary sculptural forms. The symbology of these materials--including hair, mirrors and gold hoops-- act as key ingredients to my works’ alchemical processes. Notions of the metaphysical, the spiritual, the speculative and the surreal are grounded in my practice as I explore the ways we, as Black Women, engage in alteration and transformation as healing rituals. Many of these notions can be seen through my material lists and titling; as they are written works themselves and often imbue the pieces’ intent. My intentions are determined through juxtaposing the relationships between the desirable, the decorative, the functional, and the disruptive. These relationships aid in my investigative process of claiming, creating, and converting “space”. Through my installations, surface designs, sculptural and wearable objects, I disrupt the discourse of dominant aesthetics as a means for reclaiming my body and being as a space of autonomy.