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Adele Todd
Biography Born in Trinidad and Tobago. Todd graduated with a degree in Graphic Design and Art Decoration from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY USA in 1991 and The University of the West Indies Masters Programme in Creative Design Entrepreneurship in 2012. Todd uses " soft materials," such as felt, linen and embroidery to provide commentary and activism on societal issues specific to her islands. She also works in Performance. One of her pieces “When You Dream Wedding" was seen at the University of the West Indies in 2003, highlighting domestic violence. In the piece, Ms. Todd took on the persona of a bride engaged in violent acts during the marriage celebration. Todd has also been a Lecturer in both the Creative and Festival Arts Department and Food Production Departments at the university, since 2008. She coined the terms, Performance Embroidery and Dimensional Embroidery for her work from 2006-14 where she used thread to discuss emotional, feminist issues. She has also re-contextualized characters from her homeland's annual Carnival from 2009 to the present. Her goal is to take old ideas and bring them into the 21st century. This includes the Jab Jab male character; Ms. Todd re-appropriated his whip, which traditionally inflicts pain on others, to be used as a sign of empowerment for women. Todd's work has been exhibited in the Caribbean, the United States ,Scotland and China where it has been acquired by the Beijing Biennale Committee. She is presently working on "BLACK guard" a series of 53 national flags which focuses on security workers in Trinidad and Tobago. Todd lives and works in Trinidad and Tobago. Learn more. |