Liza Lou
Security Fence, 2005, Glass beads on steel and razor wire, 335.2 x 396.2 x 396.2 cm. Ebrahim and Tina Melamed (Melamed Family Collection)
Shimmering beads catch the light and ripple across a massive barbed wire structure. Hundreds of thousands of beads, threaded one by one with tweezers, envelop every surface of the fence. Lou completed this work over the course of a year in 2005 in Durban, South Africa, with 20 Zulu women. The barbed wire, which once confined Black South Africans during apartheid, held special meaning for these women. One worker stated, "We are covering the barbed wire with love." For them, beadwork was both a means of survival and an act of resistance. Through repetitive patience and care, they transformed an instrument of violence and the process became one of healing trauma. New York-born Liza Lou has consistently reinterpreted everyday objects and environments through beadwork. Her collaborative project in Durban has continued for 15 years, providing sustained economic opportunities for the local community.
