Suspended within a towering 15-foot hand-carved frame, evocative of a Nigerian upright loom, Steven Hamilton’s mixed-media work merges the ancestral textile traditions of West and Central Africa with luminous depictions of divine hands at work. Under the Spider’s Web pays homage to the sacred role of cloth in the African imagination, threading together past and present by engaging local Black artisans Naijah Garett, Ja’Hari Ortega, and Jordan Nelson in its creation. Nearby, a living installation –Oruko Pe: The Names (Pattern) are Complete – takes form in fully functional looms, animated by live weaving performances that bring age-old techniques and patterns to life. Together, these works stand as a powerful counterpoint to historical erasures, reclaiming pre-colonial African art and mythology within Roxbury Community College, a space dedicated to fostering engaged citizenship.
