Fig.1. …when they grow up…(Detail) (2016)
Ebony G. Patterson
Ebony G. Patterson transforms visual art into a powerful portal of speculative storytelling, where fabric, embellishment, and intricate imagery become languages of resistance and reimagination. Her work exists in a liminal space between reality and fiction, challenging viewers to confront the complex narratives of marginalized communities, particularly within Caribbean and diasporic contexts.
Patterson’s artistic practice is fundamentally an act of world-building. Through elaborate tapestries, installations, and mixed-media works, she weaves speculative narratives that simultaneously memorialize and reconstruct lived experiences of Black bodies. Her pieces are not merely representations but transformative spaces where historical trauma and potential futures collide.
In works like “…when they were now…,” Patterson deploys dense, ornate surfaces that blur boundaries between celebration and mourning. Floral patterns intermingle with fragmented human figures, creating visual landscapes where violence and beauty coexist. These compositions are not passive memorials but active reimaginings—speculative interventions that challenge linear historical narratives and recuperate dignity for those historically rendered invisible.
By employing excess—sequins, glitter, elaborate textile work—Patterson subverts traditional aesthetic expectations. Her maximalist approach becomes a radical strategy, demanding viewers engage with complexity rather than simplistic representations. Each artwork becomes a speculative document, proposing alternative modes of remembrance and survival.
Through her nuanced artistic language, Patterson does more than represent experience; she generates entirely new conceptual terrains where marginalized narratives can breathe, transform, and ultimately, reimagine themselves.
An education is all about discipline. That’s the first thing. It’s about structure. It’s about helping you to negotiate structure. It’s about helping you figure out how you want to set up your own structure.
Patterson Cited in Cole Rachel, 2018
…but your sense of self as an artist cannot be dependent on the reactions of other people. You’re relinquishing your power as an individual when you do that
Patterson Cited in Cole Rachel, 2018
Fig.2. … buried again to carry on growing … (2015)
Fig.3. ….in the swallowing…she carries the whole…the hole (2021-22)
Fig.4. …kiss goodbye…goodbye kiss… (2022)
Fig.5. …a nest above, checkered shoes, beyond a green felt hat, candles no longer lit in garden in bloom (2019)
Fig.6. …three kings weep… (2018)
Fig.7. …shortly after 8-beyond the bladez (2014)
Fig.8. Entourage (from the Fambily series) (2010)
Fig.9. Untitled IX from Gangstas for Life (2008)
Bibliography
Cole Rachel, T (2018) On understanding what an education can and can’t do for you At: https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/artist-ebony-g-patterson-on-understanding-what-an-education-can-and-cant-do-for-you/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
Denesha , J (2018) For Open Spaces, An Artist Turns A Forgotten Pool Into A ‘Vision Of Color And Thought’ At: https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2018-08-31/for-open-spaces-an-artist-turns-a-forgotten-pool-into-a-vision-of-color-and-thought (Accessed 28/12/24)
Hales Gallery (2024) Ebony G. Patterson At: https://halesgallery.com/artists/98-ebony-g.-patterson/overview/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
O’Neill-Butler, L. (2019) EBONY G. PATTERSON: Ebony G. Patterson on dress and dignity in …three kings weep… At: https://www.artforum.com/columns/ebony-g-patterson-on-dress-and-dignity-in-three-kings-weep-244885/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
Saunders, P.J. (2016) ‘Gardening in the Garrisons, You Never Know What You Will Find: (Un)Visibility in the Works of Ebony G. Patterson’ In: Feminist Studies 42 (1) pp.98-137
Standley, M (2016) LIFE AND DEATH IN A POISONOUS GARDEN EBONY G. PATTERSON Dead Treez At: https://brooklynrail.org/2016/02/artseen/life-and-death-in-a-poisonous-garden-ebony-g-patterson-dead-treez/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
Stapley-Brown, V. (2018) Ebony G. Patterson: new garden-inspired installations reveal an original thinker in full bloom At: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2018/12/08/ebony-g-patterson-new-garden-inspired-installations-reveal-an-original-thinker-in-full-bloom (Accessed 28/12/24)
Zevi, C. (2015) The Disturbing Truth Buried Within Ebony G. Patterson’s Lavish Tapestries At: https://news.artnet.com/market/ebony-patterson-tapestries-326392 (Accessed 28/12/24)
List of Illustrations
Fig.1. Patterson, E (2016) …when they grow up…(Detail) [Site specific mixed media installation] At: https://www.studiomuseum.org/exhibitions/ebony-g-patterson (Accessed 28/12/24)
Fig.2. Patterson, E (2015) … buried again to carry on growing … [Installation] At: https://www.madmuseum.org/exhibition/ebony-g-patterson-dead-treez (Accessed 28/12/24)
Fig.3. Patterson, E (2021-22) ….in the swallowing…she carries the whole…the hole [Hand-cut jacquard woven photo tapestry with appliqué, fabric, plastic, beads, feathers, and wood mounted on vinyl wallpaper in two (2) parts] At: https://halesgallery.com/artists/98-ebony-g.-patterson/works/14001-ebony-g.-patterson-….in-the-swallowing…she-carries-the-whole…the-hole-2021-2022/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
Fig.4. Patterson, E (2022) …kiss goodbye…goodbye kiss… [Digital print on archival watercolor paper with hand-cut and torn elements, construction paper, and acrylic in two (2) parts] At:https://halesgallery.com/artists/98-ebony-g.-patterson/works/14849-ebony-g.-patterson-…kiss-goodbye…goodbye-kiss…-2022/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
Fig.5. Patterson, E (2019) …a nest above, checkered shoes, beyond a green felt hat, candles no longer lit in garden in bloom [Digital print on archival watercolor paper with hand-cut and torn elements, fabric, poster board, acrylic gel medium, feathered butterflies] At: https://halesgallery.com/artists/98-ebony-g.-patterson/works/9834-ebony-g.-patterson-…could-2019/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
Fig.6. Patterson, E (2018) …three kings weep… [Three-channel digital color video projection with sound] At: https://halesgallery.com/artists/98-ebony-g.-patterson/works/12405-ebony-g.-patterson-…three-kings-weep…-2018/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
Fig.7. Patterson, E (2014) …shortly after 8-beyond the bladez [Mixed media on paper] At: https://halesgallery.com/artists/98-ebony-g.-patterson/works/12403-ebony-g.-patterson-…shortly-after-8-beyond-the-bladez-2014/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
Fig.8. Patterson, E (2010) Entourage (from the Fambily series) [Digital print on nylon] At: https://halesgallery.com/artists/98-ebony-g.-patterson/works/7569-ebony-g.-patterson-entourage-from-the-fambily-series-2010/ (Accessed 28/12/24)
Fig.9. Patterson, E (2008) Untitled IX from Gangstas for Life [Mixed media on hand-cut paper with embellishments and papier mâché] At: https://halesgallery.com/artists/98-ebony-g.-patterson/works/12247-ebony-g.-patterson-untitled-ix-from-gangstas-for-life-2008/ (Accessed 28/12/24)