Nastassja Swift

Lives and works in Petersburg, VA, USA

Artist statement

I am a sculptural fiber artist, redefining my use of portraiture through wool to create soft sculptures that speak to spirituality, history and place in relation to the body. Inspired by West African masks and Yoruba ritual practices, my work explores the ways in which identity is defined and disrupted. Re-interpreting who can be worshipped, challenging archived history and questioning language around racialized bodies, these felted faces exist repetitively as vessels of stories and ancestral presence as a way of narrating Black stories, experiences and memories.

Artwork

• so I filled my nest with flowers from your garden, 2023. wool, glass beads, wood, foam
• Passage, when momma lets my braids flow down my back, 2021. wool, synthetic braiding hair, wood, plaster, resin, satin
• Your Banks are Red Honey Where the Moon Wanders, 2020. wool, cocoa butter soap, black sand, resin on wood
• of a feather, 2023. wool, velvet, leather, iron, glass beads, batting
• Inner City, 2020. indigo dyed wool, wood, wool fabric
• we have to fight, although we have to cry, 2023. wool, velvet, leather, wood, batting
• Turning Seeds, Performance Mask, 2023. wool, Carolina Gold Rice, cowrie shells, mixed textiles
• Turning Seeds, 2023. Perfomance