Terrell Jones has been putting his fingerprints in the Chicago streetwear world for years, since his early days at LDRS 1354. The multifaceted artist known as Rello is a co-founder at Fat Tiger Workshop, a streetwear boutique that houses the FTW family’s clothing lines, including Rello’s Vita Worldwide. With his latest project, we see Rello expanding out from the streetwear realm and into the world of contemporary art.
Rello first introduced the characters Ruby and Ozzy the Bad Mouse at the opening of his “Please Interpret As Black” exhibit back in February. Rello’s reimagining of Mickey & Minnie serves multiple purposes. One of them is to create a dialogue revolving around representation.
“What would the world be like if Mickey Mouse was interpreted as black?”, asks Rello. “Would the world love ME more? Would the world care for me as much as they care for this fictional character?”.
The “Please Interpret as Black” series also covers the theme of love. The characters are named after Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee: legendary artists and civil rights activists who were also lovers. With the latest installation of the series, the focus is placed on Ruby, and on celebrating women.
At a time when women’s rights are being infringed upon by the government, Rello reminds us to respect where we all came from, a woman. Cause like Tupac said, “And since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman and our game from a woman…”.
The “Everything Starts with a Women” collection includes a 24″ Ruby plush toy collectable, as well as tees, available in-store and online. The exhibit is currently on display at Fat Tiger Workshop and will remain until June 2nd.
