Kendel Woods was born and raised in Adel, Georgia. In 2010 he graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Retail Studies. It is in Chicago, that he began to consider other possibilities outside of commercial fashion, and rather look at design more conceptually. He started to investigate how fashion relates to the body, and how the body then interacts with its surrounding space and objects. Growing up, sports played an integral role in his life and thus became a major influence of his later studio practice. By looking at the relationship he shared with baseball in particular, he explores the parallels between sports, religion, and status.
NINE
Exploring the parallels between baseball and organized religion, this particular body of work explores the ways in which baseball exhibits qualities of a secularized religion. This show observes the system of beliefs, rules, rituals, and superstitions of both baseball and religion. It utilizes baseball materials and found objects to create sculpture and installation alongside video performance, in order to illustrate how sports are saviors for both spectator and athlete.