Ebony G. Patterson

Through a diverse practice in painting, sculpture and installation, Ebony G. Patterson focuses on the use of beauty as a tool to address global, social, and political injustices. For Intersecting Selves, Patterson's has created a new monumental work that continues an exploration of the garden as a conceptual site. To construct the work, she tears and cuts paper by hand and then collages the work into densely intricate and sculptural forms, adding floral arrangements, insects, and birds to create a surface with high relief. As both a metaphor for colonial space and an extension of the body, Patterson believes these sculptural wall gardens become an active site of power. Through these strategies, Patterson entices the viewer to look more deeply, confronting the gaze with both beauty and horror. “Beauty, for me, is a tool of seduction,” Patterson says, “a trap.” Bodies appear present, albeit hidden and buried in the overgrown garden landscape. Through her work, she memorializes bodies that have been historically overlooked.