N'Zassa: Making Things Work
Peter T. McCarthy
8 September - 21 October 2023
Open Wednesday - Saturday | 12pm - 4pm
Peter McCarthy seeks to inspire positive social transformation by subverting familiar traditional forms related to identify, power and prestige re-imaging them through his own personal material symbolism. Using zippers as a metaphor for humility. Normally zippers are functional elements of clothing. They are ironically brightly coloured, usually, in order to discretely do their job almost invisibly.
N’zassa, like all patchwork traditions, is borne of necessity, seeking to make the best of what is available. Each piece brings what is has to the overall composition. Each piece is important. The flags in the Anthems series reference emblematic traditional textile structures and motifs from various ethnic groups. Peter wants each viewer to feel a strange familiarity looking at his work, whilst simultaneously looking at something entirely new.
