The Family Embraces

A stark, black-and-white pictorial quilt, about the size of a king-size bed, hangs horizontally. A thick black band borders the interior frame, which features an abstract scene of images on a white background, unified by a style reminiscent of African wood carvings. The quilt’s monochromatic palette relies on light and shadow to create the bold, dynamic shapes that make up these inklike appliquéd images.

In the bottom left-hand corner, three uniformly sized human profiles are positioned in a row. They face right and share a peaceful expression, eyes closed and lips pursed, as if blowing out a candle. On the quilt’s lower right corner, another set of three profiles mirrors the first. The face at the far right is the largest of the three, which become smaller as they near the center of the quilt. Their expressions are similar, but their ink-black eyes are open. Between the two sets of faces, three human figures with oval heads are shown from the waste up, standing shoulder to shoulder and wearing kente-like wraps that feature geometric patterns. Just above the faces and figures, a rough line that could represent a rock ledge or a horizon cuts across the quilt. Hovering just above this line are six disembodied faces, suspended and spaced evenly across the quilt’s canvas. Curling white lines over each black oval indicate the facial features. In the top left corner floats a black sun, its rays radiating across the quilt in irregular concentric circles, suggesting the warmth of sunlight. The quilt’s stitching is subtle and appears to trace the shapes of the scene and figures, adding texture and depth throughout. If one were to touch the stitching with a finger, they could follow the lines to imagine the scene. The border of the entire quilt is black and stitched with diamond shapes. At the bottom right corner of the quilt on the white background in black thread, stitched handwriting reads: ​“The Family #5 by Carolyn Mazloomi 1999.”