In his intricate beaded portraits, multidisciplinary artist Felandus Thames spotlights historically marginalized figures, reclaiming their stories in defiance of the systems that have sought to erase their resistance. Composed of thousands of brightly colored and patterned hair beads, his large-scale wall-hung works transform individual beads into striking portraits that pulse with texture, depth, and emotion.
Drawing on personal memory and the cultural significance of everyday materials, Thames arrived at hair beads through an exploration of objects that shaped his childhood and identity. Functioning like pixels, each bead becomes part of a larger visual language, allowing him to weave together portraiture, history, and collective memory. The resulting works evoke both nostalgia and resilience, suggesting that both personal and cultural identity is built from countless interconnected moments.
Thames’ practice is also informed by Black Studies and the Black Radical Tradition, particularly the work of scholar Dr. Cedric Robinson, whose writings examine the histories of resistance to racial capitalism and imperialism. These ideas underpin Thames’ portraits of historical figures, which seek to recover stories that have often been marginalized while exploring the enduring legacy of resistance across the Black diaspora.
