Being made from tires, her work is primarily black. But like the black paintings by Ad Rheinhart, the more you look, the more you see. I bet you never thought that black could come in so many different variations. Kind of like skin. And in this way, issues of race and consumption and ecology thread their ways through her work.
Although a football player couldn’t pierce this work, it reads as fiber and while not fragile, it is entirely textured, layered, complex and perfectly woven together. When I stand in front her work, I sigh, wish I had made it, and feel deeply grateful that Chakaia did.