Dia Bassett

Film still of Morning Glory, recorded at El Salon Theatre, 2025.

Dance-based performance inspired by meditations on poisonous plants, whose dual nature reflects the complexity of healing: beauty and danger intertwined.

Video of full performance, El Salon Theatre, 2025.

2025.

Dance-based performance inspired by meditations on poisonous plants, whose dual nature reflects the complexity of healing: beauty and danger intertwined.

2025.

2025.

2025.

2025.

2025.

2020

Reclaimed clothing, wire, vinyl, car upholstery, fabric, hand-dyed paper towel

58 x 54 x 35 in.

2020.

2020.

2013.

Leather, reclaimed fabric, feathers, found materials.

2012

Reclaimed fabric, woven rope.

2012.

My body; reclaimed clothing and fabric, yarn, string, fiber, rope

2012.

2012.

Reclaimed fabric, woven and crocheted material, rope, thread.

Purging Vexations Headpiece, with Crocheted Three-Piece, 2012

Fiber, metal wire, reclaimed fabric woven and crocheted.

2011.

Fabric, reclaimed fabric, lace.

2012.

Nautical rope, reclaimed fabric.

2011.

Reclaimed fabric, reclaimed beaded lace, zip-ties, reclaimed diving suit.

2011.

Reclaimed diving suit, thread, plastic bag, reclaimed lace, felt.

2011

Dancer; performance; reclaimed clothing; kleenex tissue; thread

2020. Materials: Reclaimed clothing and fabric, yarn, string, fiber Techniques: Weaving, knotting, wrapping

Dimensions: Installation is 9 ft. 15.5 inches from floor to highest point, 10 ft. 9 inches at widest point, 3 inches deep

Triangles Verts is comprised of three separate triangles woven directly onto a wall. Each golden mean triangle decreases in size and is positioned at a different angle, creating the sense of gently floating shapes. The materials were sourced from family and friends. The colors were inspired by the color palette of a pillow my mother made in the 1970s as well as the original green and current blue exterior and interior palette to the house it is installed in—my mother and stepfather’s house. The triangles resemble boat sails from the surrounding area, but also become symbols for family leaving their marks.

Let Freedom Ring, 2021.

Reclaimed clothing, up-cycled vinyl, up-cycled canvas, paint
120 x 168 x 36 in.

2021.

2021.

Tumbling Joy, 2021.

Reclaimed clothing, yarn
60 x 103 x 0.5 in.

Weavings installed on nails in wall.

2021.

Maison et coeur-arc en ciel, 2020.

Reclaimed clothing and fabric, yarn, string, fiber
42 x 72 x 2 in.

2021.

2013.

Synthetic material, ink, embroidered thread.

2013.

Reunion, installed at Kettner Blvd. studio, 2013.

Ribbon, cassette tape, fishing line, reclaimed clothing, deflated balloon, oil and acrylic paint. Dimensions vary.

Worn, 2013.

Reclaimed clothing and fabric, string, hair
96 x 72 x 12 in.

2012.

2012.

The Squeeze, Installed on building in Valle de Guadelupe, Mexico, 2017.

New and reclaimed fabrics; my body
132 x 108 x 60 in.

Installation at Almazara, in Mexico.

2017.

It's Immaterial, Products of Invisible Labor, 2016.

Reclaimed fabrics and thread, reclaimed clothing hangers, paper, hanger, found materials
168 x 156 x 36 in.

Gallery installation view at SDSU Downtown Gallery.

To listen to an audio track for this installation, click here. Rose Hackman of The Guardian expands on women's struggle for equity in the issue of emotional labor here. Doreen Massey's 2013 labor analysis and breakdown of its language, and how it effects our understanding of the economy, can be read here.

2016.

2016.

2016.

Maternal Source, 2020.

Vintage slip, robe, reclaimed fabrics, ribbon, wire, papier-mâché, buttons, sequins, thread, yarn, and pipe cleaners
60 x 16 x 30 in.

2020.

Ubi pus ibi evacua, 2011.

Wire, reclaimed cloth, resin, hair, fiber
29 x 64 x 130 in.

2011.

White Shirts, 2013.

Reclaimed shirts, cord, plaster
29 x 48 x 75 in.

Reclaimed white shirts cut and crocheted, wrapped.

Lunar Kind, Two-component sculpture, 2013.

Fabric, reclaimed clothing, thread, plastic, artificial flower, hair.

2012.

Matters of the Heart, 2012.

Reclaimed clothing and fabric, feathers, fiber, straw plant, resin.

2012.

2010.

Dutch hat series in varying fabrics and cow hide.

Multimedia sculptural installation with sound component, 2015.

Reclaimed fabrics, steel, wire, reclaimed industrial thread

2015.

2015.

Purging Vexations installation.

Mixed media sculptures installed in the Everett Gee Jackson Gallery, San Diego State University, 2011.

2011.

Plastic bag, leather.

2011.

Fabric, reclaimed fabric, hair.

2011.

2011.

Reclaimed neoprene, reclaimed fabric, plastic, lace, ribbon, hair, zipper.

2011.

Reclaimed neoprene, reclaimed fabric, plastic, lace, ribbon, hair, zipper.

2011.

Reclaimed neoprene, reclaimed fabric, plastic, lace, ribbon, hair, zipper.

2011.

2011.

2012.

Branches, hair, animal hide, yarn, fabric

2012.

Branches, hair, animal hide, yarn, fabric.

2023.

Collaged fiber, paper, feather, oil pastel, ink.

2023.

Collaged fiber, paper, feather, oil pastel, ink.

Evil Eye Amulet, 2020.

Reclaimed clothing and fabric, yarn, string, fiber
36 x 36 x 3 in.

Evil Eye Amulet is inspired by musician and artist Tim Reece’s black and white charcoal drawings. Tim died from cancer in 2017, a year and two weeks before my daughter was born. He was my late husband’s best friend. As I wove using my reclaimed fabrics, I noticed an amulet for the evil eye—protection from harm—began to surface. I recalled the early days of my daughter’s life and the intense anxiety I felt, so much that I couldn’t sleep. During that time I faced a lot postpartum anxiety. By allowing the amulet for the evil eye fully take form, I felt more connected to my past, to the other side, and to the unknown future. I felt protected.

2020.

2020.

Framed circular weaving featuring amulet in black and white.

2023.

Reclaimed clothing, thread, felt,

19 x 14 inches (49 x 35.5 cm)

2023.

2023.

Reclaimed clothing, textiles, fiber, wire.

19.25 inches x 18.25 inches (49 x 47 cm)

2023.

2023.

Reclaimed clothing, childhood mask, thread, feather trim,

54 x 13 inches (135 x 33 cm).

2023.

2021.

Reclaimed clothing and fabric, yarn, string, beads, fiber
41 x 16 x 7 in.

2020.

Crocheted yarn, thread, wire, plaster, reclaimed foam hair curlers, reclaimed artificial flowers, newspaper, piano hammer, roving

18 1/2 inches height x 8 inches depth x 14 inches wide

Musical Fiber: Stop Go Life is an amalgamation of domestic objects and art materials. Quiet scenes and performative acts from a feminine domiciliary life can be envisioned—curling one’s hair, reading a newspaper, staging some flowers, while artistic processes once in motion are paused—the plaster stiffening the crocheted craftwork, the piano hammer removed from its pianoforte. All pieces are housed in a frame commemorating this new daily life.

2020.

2017.

Reclaimed clothing and fabric, reclaimed vinyl from tablecloths, reclaimed kitchen mats, reclaimed pillow cases, yarn, roving

34.5 inches height x 3 inches depth x 36 inches diameter

Shades of White began as a vision of an oversized hat that would be so large it would cover one’s face and body.

2017.

W/Work, Sold to San Diego Workforce Partnership in 2019.

Labor (framed giclée print), sold to San Diego Workforce Partnership in 2019.

Coffee Story: A collaboration of human hands, biology, and chemistry

Ryan Bros. Coffee, Host

Dia Bassett, Artist

Supported and Funded by

The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center: 52 Weeks of Science

Cascading Impurity, installed at Cuyamaca Water Conservation Garden, 2011.

Plastic bags, cut and crocheted. Recipient of Mini Grant from Green Public Art.

Side Detail of Cascading Impurity, installed at Cuyamaca Water Conservation Garden, 2011.

Plastic bags, cut and crocheted.

Temaztub, 2013, in Green Art Parade in North Park, San Diego.

Public art installation (mobile sculpture and performance).

Vintage bathtub, crafted steel bike cart, reclaimed wheels, found materials, solar lights.

The Green Art Parade debuted on July 13, 2013 in San Diego, CA. Artists submitted proposals for mobile sculptures which were made from recycled and/or used materials. Temaztub was my submission, with ongoing performance of gestures, audience interaction, and music happening within the bathtub-converted Temaztub.