Growing up in Powder Springs, artist Jasmine Nicole Williams lived with her parents and two siblings in a newly built house in a development where she still lives to this day. She recalls the fresh starter grass covering the front and back yards and all of her neighbors’ yards, and how she and neighboring kids would unknowingly kick up the starter grass and reveal the red dirt underneath.
When they’d go back home, Williams’ parents would always tell the children to take off their shoes in the garage so as to not spread the red dirt across the floors, staining their beautiful white carpets.
This memory, one which is at once inextricably linked to her experience as a Black Queer woman, is also one that has been more universally experienced by children growing up in the Southeast for many generations before and many more to come. Williams found herself reminiscing about the way that the red dirt, so full of nutrients and rich in color, was seen as something to keep away from the manufactured pristine qualities of her family’s carpets. She reflected on the way her idea of self and identity is balanced between expectations and reality.
These musings led Williams to come up with the concept of “kin to red dirt,” an exhibition that features around 15 artworks utilizing materials and tools central to her printmaking process. She feels it is important to showcase the process of printmaking instead of only focusing on the product, and therefore the exhibition includes various woodblocks and materials that normally stay in an artist’s studio..
“I wanted to show that I’m working with ink, carving the wood, and then the print of the woodblock is also in the show,” said Williams. “I wanted to bring people into the process and show them the fullness of the process.” This body of work was developed from mid-2023 through July of 2024, and features roughly 15 finished pieces.
Williams is a printmaker with a penchant for portraiture. Her process begins with research – both external and internal – which she interprets into a portrait of a person.
Usually working with friends or family, she invites them into her studio, puts on a playlist curated specifically for the subject, and captures them in a photograph. Then she draws that portrait onto wood, carves, inks, and prints the image either with a printing press or by hand. She often tears up or otherwise modifies the prints, reassembling them into a sort of textural collage.
Visitors to the gallery might notice a distinct lack of frames. While there are a few framed pieces included in this exhibition, she admits to holding a sort of grudge against frames as they relate to her works. They are, by their very nature, restrictive. Williams prefers to work in ways that defy restriction and allow for expansion and fullness of expression. That’s why several pieces are displayed hanging on the wall with pins.
“The whole process has just been me understanding who I am and understanding the ways that the world sees me, the way I see myself, where they connect and where they differ, and me reckoning with all of that,” said Williams. “That’s’ a lot of what I was thinking about when making the work; it’s about trying to find places where I can be my own self. I find that within my community, within organizing, and how we can transform to make the world a better place for all of us.”
“I had to really get in touch with my humanity and take ownership of my humanity, letting that be what leads me and helps me to understand what I need, want, and desire. I found that those things overlap with what other people need, want, and desire.”
Curated by guest curator Sierra King, the exhibition ‘kin to red dirt’ will remain on view at the Swan Coach House Gallery through Sept. 5, 2024. On Sat., Aug. 24 head to the gallery for Artist Minded, a sound bath led by Jasmine Wilson at 1 p.m. followed by an artist talk with Williams and King at 3 p.m. These events are free and open to the public, and are first come, first serve.
