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Acquaetta Williams has created Deconstruction Time: Memories from the remnants of childhood … an assemblage of secondhand objects: roller skates, clarinets, children’s wooden blocks, pocket watches as well as the artist’s hand-blown glass.
In the sculptures, the wheels of the roller skate are replaced with images of social and political commentary. Her totems offer a passageway between past and present as they relate to sentimental times. Today they are an historical reference to the strength of African-Americans still pushing forward.
Through the slender cutout that Black Americana has been viewed, she searches for a personal and political sense of relevance, unearthing the roots and comprehending the importance of time. Acquaetta presents the viewer with keys to unlock the unconscious mind, each holding their own personal hand-held camera: live audiences willingly wanting to share its story.
These totems retain the burden of time as well signifying the value of time. Williams explains that the totems need only one eviscerated eye to project the images of the past while waiting for us to reconnect. Let yourself recapture the fragmented pieces of time exposing them for what they are: a resting place where we once passed through.
Acquaetta Williams has lectured across the U.S. and was the artist-in-residence at the New York Experimental Glass Workshop. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Glass Art Society and was a founding member of Glass Axis in Columbus, Ohio. She was also an Associate Member of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ibaden in Nigeria.
Shows include Uncommon Beauty in Common Objects: The Legacy of African-American Craft Art, which visited Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in Washington as well as the international show A Woman’s View: Equality, Development and Peace at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. She has works in private and permanent collections, the Museum of Arts & Design, The ATT Learning Center and The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, Ohio.
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