Why Does Theaster Gates Turn History and Memory into Art? The Revival of Nishijin Weaving and the Black Archive — 'Theaster Gates: Glorious Robe' (Text by Seika Mori)
Theaster Gates collaborates with Kyoto’s HOSOO to revive Nishijin weaving, honoring Black liberation leaders through his 'Glorious Robe' exhibition.Summary
The exhibition 'Theaster Gates: Glorious Robe' at HOSOO Gallery in Kyoto runs from April 11 to August 30, 2024, featuring a collaboration between the artist Theaster Gates and the historic textile brand HOSOO. The show revives Nishijin weaving to reactivate the Black Archive—a collection of materials gathered by Japanese activists Nagata Mamoru and Ishiya Kasuga, who witnessed Malcolm X’s assassination in 1965 and spent decades preserving documents on the Black liberation movement. Gates incorporates symbols of resistance, embroidering fist marks onto obi sashes and marking the death dates of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers. He also wears a 'Dashikimono' made solely of hemp fabric, while the exhibition space includes audio readings and displays of the archive, presenting a dialogue between Japanese textile tradition and African American history.
(Source：Tokyo Art Beat)