In His Beaded Portraits of Black Luminaries, Felandus Thames Wants to Spark Curiosity

In His Beaded Portraits of Black Luminaries, Felandus Thames Wants to Spark Curiosity

A shrine to Black cultural scripts stands in West Haven, Connecticut, a short ride from Union Station. It isn’t an official monument of any kind, but the studio of Felandus Thames, who has been based in the Constitution State since 2008.   During a visit in March, the two-room space served as the temporary home to Thames’s latest beaded curtain portraits of notable Black luminaries, which lay on tables awaiting completion. One of his earlier w…