My family is from an area of South Louisiana called Bois Mallet. We are Creoles of color, and the mix of our ancestry is thorough, representing at least 17 countries in four continents.  Bodies of Bois Mallet is a multi-vocal exploration of our living history. The two project elements presented here are “self portraits in bloom and decay,” a series of planted ceramic vessels and “what can heal a wound?” a handwoven fabric of an archival text. 

To begin this project, I traced my ancestry as far back as I could, identified plants that were native to the places where my ancestors come from and gathered seeds for these plants.

I then hand built a series of ceramic vessels with a unified soil bed and diverse depths and drainages, filled them with soil and planted them with the seeds I had gathered. I nurtured this self-ecology through a full cycle of birth, life and death.

These “self-portraits in bloom and decay” are composed of hand-built ceramic vessels, soil, seeds*, stumbles, plants*, transplants*, partial truths, time, mistakes, sunlight, water, archival research, oral history, death, and family conversation

*Seeds/plants include: lavender, black sesame, dandelion, thyme, yarrow, chicory, basil, strawberries, amarynth, mint, bear’s garlic, sweet mace, melegueta pepper, black salsify, borage, rosemary, chamomile, flax, elderberry, jasmine, maypop, shamrock, moss, moringa, yams