Alisa Banks

Loci, 2022

Fig leaf and commercial papers, botanical and printing inks, dye, book cloth. 5.75” x 28.0” (open)

Loci is a snapshot in time of three gardens that sparked and still hold my interest in using plants as charged materials to forge connections with ancestors. Loci contains three books, each dedicated to one of the gardens that supported my plant investigations. Each book is composed of monoprints created with plants harvested from their particular landscape.

Alisa Banks

Loci, 2022

Alisa Banks

History of a People, 2023

Mixed Media: aromatics, beads, cloth, cotton, hair, glass, graphite, indigo, paint, paper, shells, thread, wood Closed: 20” H x14” W x 12” D

History of a People traces African American history and culture through scent. Each of the six bottles (or chapters) holds a custom blended scent that corresponds to the cultural landscape of selected historical periods: Roots, Journey, Arrival, Harrow, Protest, Visioning. The scents symbolize the complex layering involved in the creation of a new culture.

Alisa Banks

History of a People, 2023

Alisa Banks

Yeene, 2019

Paper, book cloth, book board, silver chain, gold chain, thread, hair, color pencil, pigment prints, amber, aquamarine, onyx, metal, found objects closed: 6.75” x 10” x 8.75; open: 13.15” x 10” x 8.75”

Yeene is an ode to an invisible and significant life

Alisa Banks

Yeene, 2019

Alisa Banks

Inheritance, 2022

Wood (walnut), pigments (soil, indigo, acorn, walnut), paper (cotton, abaca, human hair, dye), synthetic hair, human hair, glass, sterling silver, lily, beeswax, aromatics 10.5” x 10.5” x 4”H

Inheritance focuses on hair day, a custom prevalent in many Black households in the US andthroughout Africa and the diaspora. The act of hair grooming is an opportunity to share history, stories, and traditions. Inheritance is a portable writing desk containing a quilt, a brush, a bound book, and an “inkwell” containing scented “pomade.”