Unraveling Identities
Being
an Artist is allowing yourself to fully question and answer things truthfully without the world swaying your opinions and thoughts.
Table of Contents
• About The Artist, pg 6
• CV, pg 7
• Artist Statement, pg 8
• What is Garmenting, pg 9
Exhibited Work
• The Evolution of A Strange Fruit:
Garmenting as an art form, pg 10, 11
• Wooden Sculpture, pg 12
• Collaging, pg 13
Experimental Work
• Collaging, pg 14, 15
Hand cut paper collages: Micro and portrait photography
• Sculpting, pg 16, 17
Lashun Costor is an interdisciplinary visual artist who explores the nuances of race, gender, identity, and the human condition. Through her work, she is able to visually tell stories of her own identity and experiences. Creating spaces for dialogue, giving viewers a unique perspective on issues often overlooked or misunderstood in our society. Lashun’s artworks are consistently imbued with a sense of wonder and curiosity, whether through her garments, collages, or sculptures. Her versatility in creating art has given her a unique persona that explores the depths of one’s self. Examining her identity as a Black Caribbean immigrant living in America has given her the foundation to dig deeper within her diaspora. Lashun has worked with The MET Opera House, WEtv, 3DW, and Aronson Galleries, with other extensive collaborations in the works. She is committed to success through her drive, confidence, and motivation. A long-standing effect of her past studies at Parsons School of Design.
EXPERIENCE
The Arnold & Sheila Aronson Gallery
New York, NY | November 2018
Fashion & Race Exhibition: Artist
The Metropolitan Opera: Cendrillon
New York, NY | January 2018
Highland Brooklyn, New York| January 2022
Group Exhibition
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENT
Princeton University Art Museum: Artist Talk
New Jersey | April 14th, 2022
Visual Storytelling and the Importance of Introspection
Career Day Guest Speaker
Brooklyn, NY | P.S. 244 | May 2021
Parsons School of Design: What I Wish I knew Panel
New York, NY | April 2021
Guest Speaker Parsons Scholars Program
Scholastic Art Judging
New York, NY | Jan 2018
PUBLICATIONS
Ahwaaleew Stories
Apr 2020 | Designed Matters | Interview | website
The AFM
Feb 2019 | Lashun Costor: The Evolution of a Strange Fruit website
i-D Magazine
Nov 2018 | Wheeler, André -Naquian | Parsons’ New Ehibition
Explores How Fashion Can Be Less Racist, website
The Metropolitan Opera
Apr 2018 | Gallery Met Shorts: Cendrillon | website
Google Arts & Culture
2018 | “The Evolution of a Strange Fruit” (dress and headpiece) websit
Dazed Magazine
2018 | This exhibition spotlights the next gen artists exploring fashion and race websit
EDUCATION
2014 - 2018 Parsons School of Design
B.F.A Fashion Design & Art New York, NY
2012 - 2014 Parsons Scholars Pre Collage Program New York, NY
2010 - 2014 Fashion Industries New York, NY
Artist : Charles Goldman Jaime Arredondo
Hilda Shen
STUDIED UNDER GRANTS AND AWARDS
JumpstArt NYC | June 2021 |Website
Parsons Scholars Program Alumni Artist Project Award New York, NY | November 2019
William Randolph Hearst Scholarship
New York, NY | May 2018
- 2018 3DW.it Sponsorship
- 2014 HEOP Scholarship
HONORS - 2014 ESTEE Lauder Scholarship
- 2014 Brag Scholarship
- 2012 The Heaney Award
- 2012 The Heaney Award
The desire to discover and explore the unknown has been a driving force in human history for centuries. From the earliest days of human civilization, people have been curious about the world around them. As an artist, I want to give a different perspective on what it means to be human through a woman’s eyes. My work depicts a creative mind questioning one’s identity through the reality bestowed upon her. Start with asking the question, what does it mean to be a WOMAN?
I fully know that what it means to be a woman is a complex and multifaceted concept that will lead me and others down the path of introspection. Analyzing thoughts, feelings, environments, experiences, and perceptions of the world around us. Using my senses to lay the foundation for a series of works dedicated to creating dialogue around how societal structures have a mental hold on our perception of reality historically.
My artwork takes a critical view of social and cultural issues. Communicating through 2D and 3D forms. Thus far, the work has used experiences and voices to create intricate stories, decrypting my ancestor’s past and showcasing how their existence intertwines with our present.
Creating art that stems from introspection is a deep desire to fully understand the psychology behind what it means to be a self. This can take many forms within my craft, such as writing, garment ing, sculpt ing, collaging, and interviewing, to express complex ideas. This type of art often aims to connect with others on a deeper level and provoke thought and reflection in the viewers. Within my next phase of work, I want to continue to push the boundaries of what is considered art. Throughout my creative process, it’s essential to be inspired by the voices and experiences of others. This feeds into my creative process of creating silhouettes and shapes for garments & sculptures.
Knowing who I am and my ancestral background is important to my work. It allows me to share my struggles and personal experiences so that others can feel the raw emotions of my pain and triumphs.
Garmenting allows us to tell stories using the human body as a canvas. The language of clothing does not only affect how we think but also how we feel. Helping us articulate who we are as individuals while creating versions of who we want to be. Yet it’s so easy for people to dismiss the effects garments have on the human mind. Communicating through clothing, as a work of art, is a way to convey our deepest thoughts.
A practice of making clothing for expressive purposes to bring awareness to societal issues. Looking at a garment with new eyes, once you take away its functionality.
Exhibited Work
Garmenting
The Arnold & Sheila Aronson Gallery
New York, NY
Fashion & Race Exhibition
Fiting the stereotypical features of a black woman to emphasize the psychological captivity of slavery.
The Evolution of a Strange Fruit is about the experiences and contributions of black women in American society to create a collective understanding of our struggles and perseverance. Evoking the historical trauma of the institution of slavery, yet challenging the stigma of Black women’s bodies.
Living in an environment that simultaneously stigmatizes and commodifies the black body, has fostered the creations of this mold. The use of different textures, shapes, and seams has given the garment new meaning and life.
The goal of this project is to create a bridge between the past and the present using garmenting as a medium of expression.
Clothing is much more than just an item of utility. It has the power to express our feelings and opinions, to bring awareness to societal issues, and to be a medium for visual art. As we look at a garment with new eyes and once we take away its functionality, it can become a powerful symbol and statement of our beliefs. We can use clothing design as a way of expressing ourselves, from the colors and textures used, to the message that is being conveyed through it. By making clothing for expressive purposes, we are able to make an impact using clothing as a tool to bring awareness to important issues or for creative expression.
