Location: Ivy Brown Gallery; 675 Hudson St, New York, NY
Up Next… Artist Talk: Friday, September 23, 6:00-8:00pm
I’ll be sharing what Joyful Resistance means to me and how I transform disappointment into beauty and answering any questions you may have about the works in the show.
Followed by
Community Art Making: Wednesday, September 28, 3:00-6:00pm
Closing Reception: Friday, October 7, 3:00-5:00pm
Black Ballerina, September 2020, 100′ of slip half hitched chain black glitter 1/4” cotton rope, knotted with ribbon, recycled ribbon, sari ribbon, acrylic yarn, broken jewelry and 8” zip ties on bamboo ring. 64 x 14 x 2 in
Racial Gaslighting, hides in plain sight in everyday interactions. It subtly shifts dialog from a racist topic at hand onto the accuser – forcing me to question and re-assess my own response to racism, rather than the racism itself.
“You’re being overly dramatic.”
“Are you sure it was about race?”
“I’m sure he/she didn’t mean it like that.”
Intentional or not, these types of comments trigger a spiral of self-doubt and create a convenient way to avoid uncomfortable conversations about race.
The constant questioning, twisting and undermining of personal experience and what I know to be true – has had a compound negative affect upon me, manifesting in insomnia, anxiety and hefty amounts of emotional baggage. Through these works, I am exercising these demons.
This exhibition explores implicit biases facing BIPOC communities and the aesthetic armor for protection I have created to shield myself.