Diane Williams

Diane Williams Artist Statement

INcongruence confronts viewers, turning them into active participants. The installation consists of several modular weavings made out of cultural detritus such as yarn, thread, fabric, plastic, and shredded paintings. These materials have personal history, recycled from friends and family or salvaged from the artist’s predominantly immigrant neighborhood Thrift Shop in Glassell Park and the Fabric District in Downtown Los Angeles called Santee Alley. These shops are traditionally owned, run, and supported by immigrant families. The gesture of obtaining an amalgamation of materials from different sources provides connections with the histories and narratives of her community.

Williams intertwines these elements into modular weavings, reminiscent of protest signs and roadside memorials that operate as obstructions, confinement, and disruptions. This installation aims to reflect the immigrant communities as well as the whole nation at large, illustrating the idea of an extended community while challenging assumptions and norms. The polychromatic modules are an amalgamation of diverse textures and components. A reminder that America is clearly divided as a nation but we have more in common than we are often led to believe.

Diane Williams is a Pilipinx-American, immigrant artist who examines the roles people play in systems and institutions of power. She explores this idea by drawing her audience into a deconstructed and hybrid space, real and imagined, familiar and unfamiliar, creating a counter-narrative based on her diasporic positionality.

See Diane speak about her artwork and her art practice.