Addie wears history

Addie Wears History is a project that came about organically, within the limited space and possibilities of my modest apartment and from clothing, makeup, accessories, and etc. I already happened to own, in which I "remake" an image of an artist of color that has been important to my evolution of an artist, and to share in the limited space of the Instagram caption why it is they have mattered in my life. Just before the pandemic would turn the world upside down in the spring of 2020, my entire life also turned on its head when I found myself in the midst of a volatile and painful divorce just months before the beginning of the tour for my debut young adult novel, Dear Twin. What I didn't know is that my world would become even smaller through necessary quarantines and lockdowns due to COVID-19. Due to many factors, such as the intense need and expectation to spend hours on my computer, and the ways in which divorce and quarantine and fear of becoming infected or losing others to a deadly virus began to impact my ability to read, write, or even think creatively, I began to "remake" images of artists that have meant a great deal to me throughout my artistic evolution, starting with Black History Month in 2021. The energy around the images, just from those in my community, spurred me to continue with them, even though I initially wasn't thinking much beyond it other than an exercise to become more present to my own body and to those who have sustained me. After Black History Month, it was such a healing project for me that I began to think of it as such, and gave it a name, and its own dedicated space on Instagram. Each day I take a self portrait modeled after an image of an artist that has meant something to me, but I have set one condition: that the artists be Black, Indigenous, or identify as people of color. So far, each month has focused on artists based on who is honored that month during month-long observances. My current goal is to take a photo every day for a year.