Vibrant, Beaded Portraits by Felandus Thames Honor Memories and the Black Diaspora

"From thousands of colorful hair beads, Felandus Thames conjures vibrant patterns and portraits. He takes historical photographs as a starting point, focusing especially on Black and Indigenous figures whose stories have largely been underrepresented in American historical narrative. These include dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey and Amos Haskins, a 19th-century Wampanoag man who became a master mariner—one of the few Indigenous people to do so."

"Based in West Haven, Connecticut, Thames emphasizes powerful associations with materials. In the case of these portraits, he employs beads frequently used to style braids. Recent projects also include installations incorporating multiple hairbrushes. "Lately, I've been thinking about the affordances of material and their ability to necessitate an idea," Thames tells Colossal. "I've been mining materials from my childhood," he adds, delving into memories that connect him and others within the Black diaspora."

"These materials reference both historical and contemporary functions, from the use of beads and shells as currency in early societies to the way a beaded curtain was separated different areas within Thames' childhood home. "In these works, I offer the everyday as cultural currency," he says. Thames describes the mass-produced plastic components as "Black pixels," akin to pieces of fabric patchworked together to form a quilt."

Felandus Thames constructs vibrant portraits and patterns from thousands of colorful hair beads, often starting from historical photographs of Black and Indigenous figures such as Alvin Ailey and Amos Haskins. Based in West Haven, Connecticut, Thames emphasizes the associative power of materials, mining childhood objects like beads, shells, and hairbrushes to connect personal and diasporic memory. The beaded strands reference historical uses—currency and domestic dividers—and are hung from aluminum rods to become fabric-like surfaces. Thames describes mass-produced beads as “Black pixels,” likening their patchwork effect to quilting, a familial creative practice that carries memory. Recent work engages the Black radical tradition and reparative historical representation.

Read at Colossal