On Restoration and Repair: A Conversation with Ja’Tovia Gary (opens in new tab)

“The wig has a name. The wig’s name is Pam.”I was not even a little surprised to hear that Dallas-born filmmaker Ja’Tovia Gary had given a name to the bouncy brown bob she wears in her film The Giverny Document (2019). The wig takes on a presence of its own, allowing Gary to embody a talk-show-host persona as she stops Black women on the streets of Harlem to ask, “Do you feel safe?” This character dons a navy blue, military-style jacket with gold buttons (think Michael Jackson) and speaks wit...