Access a slow-looking exercise of this work.

Transcript
Narrator: Shinique Smith uses reclaimed clothing, ribbon, and yarn in this installation from 2021. It stretches vertically from ceiling to floor, just over 10 feet tall, and varying in width between a few inches along most of the piece to a section in the middle about 2 feet in diameter. There is an element of storytelling in the title, "She Waited Secretly, Between Shadow and Soul," that invites us to observe closely.

The bulk of this fabric sculpture dangles in the center about 6 feet above the gallery floor, hanging from the ceiling by a thin stretch of cord and ribbon, which seems to tenuously support its weight. Another stretch of thin ribbon hangs below the bulky center and supports a smaller mass of fabric at the bottom, resting delicately on the gallery floor. The central piece is about 2 feet in diameter while the smaller bottom piece is just over several inches wide. What appears to be a single ribbon supporting both ends of this artwork is in fact several smaller pieces tied or braided together to create a continuous line. This gives it the illusion of a thread that is actively being pulled apart and starting to fray along the edges—as if at any moment it could snap or tear.

The bulky fabric sections at the center and bottom of the installation are constructed similarly, made from clothing from personal and intimate sources. From afar, it appears to be composed of black and orange fabric, tightly compacted and bound together into a bulbous mass. Upon closer look, it’s evident that all the fabric is the same: a black color that has been bleached in places, creating drips and splotches of orange tones scattered throughout. The bulbous orange-and-black mass is contained by thin black and gold ribbons, cords, and threads unevenly wrapped several times around the mass, so what would have been a circular shape is now a series of lumps and bulges, like flesh spilling over a tightened belt.

The relation of these two bulky sections resembles a pendulum clock, with a larger central timepiece and a smaller pendulum that might dangle and swing like a counterweight. It leaves us wondering about the relationship between them and their reference to cross-cultural traditions, including swaddling babies, wrapping gifts, body binding, and tying into devotional objects. How might Smith’s use of worn clothing—personal and intimate—transform the material into a symbol of care for bodies and the ecological environment?

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