Jessie Dunahoo
(1932–2017)
BornBeattyville, Kentucky, United States
ActiveLexington, Kentucky, United States
DiedLexington, Kentucky, United States
BiographyJessie Dunahoo turned plastic bags into complex tapestries and draped structures. Working by touch—he was born deaf and lost his vision at a young age—he made his sculptures by sewing and knotting together a range of discarded bags. Incorporating a clashing mixture of typography and logos from big-box and department stores, the works have a colorful, graphic character and display the varying translucence and textures of the cast-off material. Bread bags, shopping bags, and trash bags all appear in the patchwork of plastic. Through gestures and signs, Dunahoo conveyed to interpreters that he conceived of these pieces as “shelters.” Many take the form of large-scale environments with stitched folds, evoking tents or sleeping bags, whereas others hang like curtains.Born in 1932, Dunahoo grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky. There he suspended found materials, including pie tins and bottles, from trees and fences and made formations from earth for wayfinding around his family’s home. He later moved into a state-run group home in Lexington. For several years, he created his work at Minds Wide Open Arts Center and Latitude Artist Community, both facilities in Lexington supporting individuals with disabilities. Along with countless plastic bags, he also worked fabric scraps and salvaged clothing into his quilt-like works. These became more elaborate over the years, notably through added attention to edges, some parts of which he twisted and others of which he left loose in alternating patterns.
Like his earlier outdoor works that intersected the woods around his family’s farm, Dunahoo often used his pieces as a form of navigation, guiding people through them as a tactile experience at his exhibitions in the Lexington area. He died in 2017 at the age of eighty-four.
Allison C. Meier, 2025
Text written as part of “Rethinking Biography,” an initiative supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).