Adia Gibbs

Transplanted from New York, Adia Gibbs is a graduate of Parsons School of Design, has been living in Oregon for several plus years, and is a Portland-based visual artist pursuing an MFA at Pacific Northwest College of Art. Adia is the ethereal timekeeper of memories, whose illustrative assemblages reflect her longing to connect with her ancestors and those who came before. The concept of her work is the excavation and preservation of the past. She weaves a story incorporating woven textiles and organic matter with china or vintage tools of domesticity and carpentry.

Adia’s aesthetic combines organic and manufactured materials and conditioning them to look eroded by time and overtaken by nature, because erosion and decay, are the time stamps of life. There is a methodical pleasure she takes in the process of corrosion of everyday objects. The act of rusting metal, aging wood, staining crocheted lace with tea, and imbuing old sepia photographs as transparencies onto thin china or old apothecary bottles, makes her feel like she is connecting with the person who would have used these everyday items. When on the search for these pieces, sometimes Adia will hold on to an article and energetically get a feeling to either collect or buy it even if she hasn’t discovered what its purpose will be yet. Being inspired by found objects serves as a springboard for dialogue, connection, and research that enrich Adia and her creative spirit. This is the gift of the symbiotic process between her art and the finished piece.

Photo credit Mario Gallucci