Tau Lewis

The first monograph on Lewis' sculptural practice inspired by the material inventiveness of Afro-Atlantic diasporic traditions

This is the first monograph dedicated to the sculptural practice of the Canadian artist Tau Lewis (born 1993). Lewis transforms found materials into intricate soft sculptures, quilts, masks and other assemblages through intensive processes such as hand sewing and carving. A self-taught artist, Lewis’ practice is directed at healing personal, collective and historical traumas through the repetitive forms of creative labor she employs. She forages for materials charged with meaning―old clothing and photographs, as well as driftwood and seashells―which she often collects from her surroundings in Toronto, New York or outside her family’s home in Negril, Jamaica. Lewis’ upcycling relates to forms of material inventiveness practiced by diasporic communities, wherein working with objects close at hand is a reparative act to reclaim agency. Throughout, Lewis’ interest lies in honoring and advancing these diasporic traditions and exploring, as she has said, “the transference of energy and emotion that occurs when an object is made by hand.”