Katrina Coombs

Armour of The Other evokes Oshun’s presence through gold and yellow tones;

colours of sweetness, fertility, and divine femininity. Cowrie shells encircle the waist as

sacred armour, protecting the womb and invoking abundance. The piece honors

Yoruba rites of passage, where the woman’s body becomes both vessel and shrine,

guarded by ancestral and orisha power.

Katrina Coombs was born in St Andrew, Jamaica. She holds a BFA with Honours in Textiles and Fibre Arts (2008) and a Certificate in Curatorial Studies (2009) from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. In 2013, she obtained an MFA in Creative Practice from Transart Institute via The University of Plymouth. Coombs has a passion for fibre and an understanding of the sensitivity of threads and fabric, which she uses to bring forth unique designs and sculptural forms.  Her practice focuses on the impact of the Other on the “I”, and the role and existence of the woman. She weaves and stitches fibres and textiles as ways of engaging the ambivalent and stigmatizing ways society engages the female persona. Coombs’ work has been featured in numerous international exhibitions in Kingston, Manila, Berlin, New York, Bogota, Miami, Chicago, and Washington. She lives and works in St. Andrew, Jamaica.

27 × 75 inches
68.58 × 190.50 cm

Courtesy of the Artist