From larger than lifelong hair bands to a wall of extensive braids, Tiff Massey Spotlights distinctive Detroit style. Trained as a Metalmith, the artist uses the power of material and scale to emphasize the neighborhoods and black identity and culture of the city.
7 miles + livernoisMassey’s Solo exhibition on the Detroit Institute of ArtsIs inspired at the intersection in the heart of the black business and fashion district of the city, where the artist grew up. The area will soon be home to a new art and community space that leads Massey in an attempt to guide and celebrate local relationships.
Personal decorations are central to the expression of the artist, which she channeled through jewelry, sculptures and mixed media assemblies to underline black style with a focus on her hometown. “Whatupdoe” and “Everyday Arsenal”, for example, transform, for example, a contemporary chain chain and silver rings into monumental installations, creating areas of portal-like tunnels and intersecting corners.
The “ancestral flying” of the parents and previous generations of the artist also offers an unlimited source of inspiration. “How they adorned herself has certainly not only influenced how I decorate myself, but also for the ideas I have in the works,” says Massey in an interview for the DIA exhibition catalog. “Detroiters, when we step outside, we step outside. We want people to see it. We want people to see us. And that has left a huge impression on me.”
7 miles + livernois Continues until 11 May. Find more about the artist website And Instagram.
