Samantha's Brief:

A wearable rotating piece capturing the themes of self-identity and culture. 

The project captured the work of Marka27 and specifically his mural called Queendom. Most of his work relates to cultural expression. His work also captures the clear divide between someone's internal cultural identity and what they choose to show to the world. Meet The Queen is a wearable designed to capture both aspects of identity and make the act of opening up in the control of the wearer. Marka27 also uses geometric shapes to frame the subject of his art. 

Two rotating triangular pieces of wood serve as frames, inside of which bioplastic material is collaged with fabrics, colors, animal prints, and other design elements abstracted from the mural. The triangular frames are attached to a rotating bolt on a sturdy belt. When the pieces are in the upward position, the model's face is mostly covered, representing privacy and self-reflection. When the triangles are moved to the outward pointing position, they frame the upper half of the model's body just like in the mural. The final position, in which the triangles are pointing downward to create a skirt, is for when the wearer is confident and ready to show their whole self. The goal of this project is for anyone who wants to witness or demonstrate different sides of their culture and identity. Included in Queendom are aspects of the woman's African-American culture such as animal prints. These aspects are also included inside the bioplastic triangles placed to show her hiding some of these parts of herself.