'Voodoo Child '– Moses Quiquine

Curated by James Putnam

March 21– April 17, 2019

Africa Centre, 66 Great Suffolk St., SE1 0BL

Moses Quiquine's latest body of work was made in response to his visit to sacred voodoo sites and shrines on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. There is a popular fallacy that voodoo is linked to evil and black magic rituals that involve sticking pins in dolls to harm others. It is therefore important to challenge these negative misconceptions of Voodoo that provoke fear of any art associated with it.

Quiquine’s was born in London in 1996 of French Caribbean descent, and his practice involves a complex multi-media reconfiguration of couture and fashion skills together with found objects that relates to the syncretic symbolism inherent in the sacred art of voodoo. The exhibition shares its title with Jimi Hendrix’s famous song Voodoo Chile (Child) recorded on the 1968 album ‘Electric Ladyland’ and Quiquine is much inspired both by his innovative music and flamboyant dress sense. Yet Quiquine’s use of the title embodies both the ideas of reconciliation of disparate parts and the sacredness of this process. The new body of work includes a series of meticulously executed and densely variegated textile sculptures and two-dimensional works rendered on cow and goat hides..

Quiquine’s practice not only relates to the fascinating relationship between fashion and art but also blurs the boundaries between fine art and craft through his textile works that are effectively mixed media sculpture. It is part of a wider movement among young emerging artists whose work includes hand stitched pictures, tapestries, and ‘sculptural clothing’. Quiquine’s work is about disregarding existing artistic boundaries and classifications, while combining a level of craftsmanship with a rich visual narrative. It celebrates the process of making and helps to redefine the relationship between visual art, fashion, handcraft and performance.

Link to Exhibition Review

https://fadmagazine.com/2019/04/09/voodoo-child-the-art-of-moses-quiquine/

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Installation view of Dress

'Detail of 'Voodoo Work'

Back of 'Jacket'