Collection
Tau Lewis transforms natural and synthetic materials—found textiles, furs, human hair, pipes,
and natural artifacts—into figurative sculptures, installations, and quilts that invoke ancestors
while narrating the present.
The Tongue and the Teeth (2020) is a quilted tondo made of found stingray leather and recycled
fabric, as well as stones and seashells from the shores of the artist’s native Jamaica. Telling a
mythological tale of birth and growth, the work depicts cross-sections of two pregnant (or
birthing) human bodies, their feet spread to its outer edges and their hands connecting around the
center. An oculus of black and white shells and stones at the center of the piece marks wombs as
sources of knowledge and growth. The work’s title cites an Adinkra symbol used by the Akan
people of Ghana. The symbol for Ese Ne Tekrema shows interlocking teeth and a tongue that
symbolize friendship and interdependence. Other symbols signify “vigilance” and “peace and
unity.” In this work, Lewis puts these symbols and their concepts and aphorisms into a
contemporary context that connects to the histories and knowledge of the African diaspora in the
Caribbean.
Tau Lewis (b. 1993, Toronto) has been honored with a solo exhibition at Atlanta Contemporary
(2018); National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (2021); and Haus der Kunst, Munich (2021). Lewis
has been featured in group shows at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2021); MoMA PS1,
Queens, New York (2017); and the New Museum, New York (2017). Lewis lives and works in
Brooklyn.