"Tignon," an exhibition by Chesley Antoinette that focuses on a 1786 Louisiana law requiring free women of color to cover their hair with a cloth, known as a tignon, opened Monday at the Wright Gallery on the Texas A&M campus.
The exhibit continues through March 9. Part of the A&M School of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts and School of Architecture, the Wright Gallery is located in the Langford Architecture Building A, and is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is free and open to the public. For more information, go to arch.tamu.edu/inside/services/wright-gallery.
The women reappropriated the tignon as a symbol of rebellion by embellishing the headwraps in decorative fabrics, feathers and jewels. Through contemporary photography and textile sculpture, the exhibit explores headwraps as a form of self-expression and empowerment for black women.
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“Tignon” includes photography of contemporary women in 18th century clothing that references historic paintings and drawings of women wearing tignons, along with essays, textile sculpture and headwraps on display.
Antoinette created Cantoinette Studios to turn items from the waste stream into wearable art.
A reception with Antoinette will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at the gallery.
