Reflections of Culture
The exhibition invites visitors to examine how what they wear reveals who they are.
Attendees will learn how individuals from around the world communicate personal information through various forms of adornment, including traditional and contemporary clothing, jewelry, and body art.
Reflections of Culture draws from Fernbank’s permanent collections – featuring the Dorothy Methvin McClatchey Collection – to showcase the intriguing similarities among cultures globally and the diverse methods of expressing cultural identity through wearable creations.
This exhibit highlights the most personally expressive objects: personal adornments. People across the globe decorate their bodies with clothing, jewelry, and different forms of body modification, such as piercing, scarring, painting, shaping, and tattooing. Personal adornment serves as a powerful way to articulate cultural identity and effectively communicates social, political, and economic information about individuals and their societies.
Visitors will discover what culture is and how it is expressed through a variety of contemporary and historic objects. Artifacts are displayed alongside captivating photographs that provide context for who wears the objects, how they are worn, and the reasons behind their use. Educational offerings throughout the gallery allow guests to further explore how personal adornment expresses culture.
