Exhibition
Tempest gallery presents the exhibition Welcome Stranger.
“The study & practice of craft is [] a form of material resistance against ethnic cleansing, genocide and occupation.”-Jenna Hamed
“The stranger, on the other hand, can also easily become and already is each one of us, as we exist as both subjects to ourselves and objects to others in the world.” -Laurel V. McLaughlin, “As Strangers And Refugees: Olu Oguibe’s Performing Monument” in Monument Lab.
For September 2024 NY Textile Month, a group of artists will present new work on layette pincushions. Titled Welcome Stranger, the group show will focus on amuletic craft and Palestinian steadfastness.
The current genocide and displacement of Palestinians stands in discussion with the hopeful beauty and labor inherent in these objects. We see layette pincushions as a punctum of resourcefulness, resilience, and evidence of a gifting culture amongst a community that supported each other through the serious mortal threat that childbearing and birth could be. Currently, giving birth in Gaza is more dangerous than it was for the Victorian women sewing layette pincushions in the 1800s.
The threads tying Victorian layette pincushions to Palestinian resistance are imaginary, but we are interested in the way material culture and especially amuletic or emotionally charged objects can widen our lens with which to see current events.
Research on the themes in Welcome Stranger by Lauren Bradshaw & Jenna Hamed will accompany the exhibition.
Please visit to see works by Taesha Aurora, Amir Badawi, Lauren Bradshaw, Katherine Earle, Francisco echo Eraso, Gigi Gruenburg, Jenna Hamed, Clare Hu, Vandana Jain, Ayqa Khan, Amalya Megerman, Theo Trotter, Defne Tutus and Natasha Vega.
Regular gallery hours: Wed-Sat 1-6pm
Amir Badawi - photo_ Jenny Gorman @eyescamp
Clare Hu, Prospective Patch 14, 2023, 20" x 16", Double weave overshot, painted warp, digital image on fabric, duck cotton, thread
Lauren Bradshaw, Repletion, 2023, Embroidered shoulder pads
Lauren Bradshaw, Lush, 2024, Embroidered shoulder pads, hook & eyes
At TEMPEST, we want to talk about art in a maelstrom. We invite artists to be unafraid to broach difficult conversations and address colonial structures of violence through their practice in textiles, sculpture and installation. Through our programming and events, we aim to create community and a space for gathering, presenting work and building relationships in Ridgewood Queens.
We are open to scheduled visits outside of regular hours, please direct message us on instagram @tempest.gallery