Seattle-based artist Tariqa Watersâs practice encompasses mixed-media tableaus, sculpture, photographs, film, and immersive installations that push the aesthetics of commercial advertising into surreal, otherworldly territory. It is at the juncture with product advertising and recollections of Americana that Waters interrogates the importance of beauty and identity, especially its significance for Black women. For her solo exhibition at Seattle Art Museum, Waters will present new work in an immersive environment that challenges notions of vulnerability in the absence of security.
Tariqa Waters is the 2023 Betty Bowen Award Winner. Founded in 1977 to continue the legacy of local arts advocate and supporter Betty Bowen, a Washington native and enthusiastic supporter of Northwest artists, the annual award honors a Northwest artist for their original, exceptional, and compelling work.