Norman Teague

Re+Prise

Working within a new material framework for his practice, Norman Teague embraces experimentation through the (re)use of extruded plastics. Within this body of work, he performs cultural memory, drawing from Bolga and Agaseke basket-weaving techniques, and reinterpreting traditional vessels through recycled materials. His work bridges the Global South and the Global North through a diasporic lens. Tracing waste and production streams, Teague’s vessels critique Western extractivist practices in the Global South which return previously mined ore as refuse. The colors of these objects reflect prismatic commercial waste, while at times also melting together, creating bodily, earthy tones.


Norman Teague Design Studios
Leslie Cain, operations/administration/wife
Max Davis, designer/digital fabrication
Daniel Overbey, design/assistant
Jacob Polhill, design/assistant

Design Consultants
Tom Burtonwood
Ken Dunn
Cody Norman Studios

Advisors
alt_Chicago: Jordan Campbell and Jon Veal
Dee Clements
Theaster Gates
Juan De La Mora Monsivais
Adedayo Laoye
Patric McCoy
Benjamin Pardo
Paul Preissner
Antonio Torres
McKinley Wells
Amanda Williams

Institutional Support
University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Design: Marcia Lausen; Jonathan Mekinda, PhD; Rebecca Rugg, PhD
Fondazione Prada
Rebuild Foundation