A 2016 MAD Artist Fellow, Aqeel Malcolm explores intersectionality as it relates to the layers of his own identity as a Black, Queer, African American, and Jamaican American male. Craft is essential to his studio practice, especially working with fibers and weaving, as are ideas of intimacy and masculinity. A question that persists in his work is “what constitutes masculinity and how is it affecting the men of today?”
Malcolm worked full-time in the Artist Studios for a period of four months. For his first project, he collected his body hair and incorporated the hair into weavings as an investigation of the ways hair can be manipulated when it is detached from the body and the process of fabrication. His second project gave him the opportunity to examine his fascination with the sheerness and transparency of lace. Working on an AVL Compu-Dobby loom, Malcolm explored lace to create textiles using huck and leno weave structures.
Malcolm graduated with a BFA in Fiber with a concentration in Experimental Fashion from Maryland Institute College of Art with several awards to his credit.
