Weighing In: An Online Exhibition Inspired by the Black Lives Matter Movement

June 19, 2020
  • The current resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement is pulling the lid off of the institutionalized racism and white supremacy that marginalizes so many people around the world. Amidst this massive, global cultural and social shift, C24 Gallery continues to deepen our ongoing commitment to a more inclusive world view, amplifying the voices of artists from marginalized communities and focusing on narratives that seek to disrupt notions of mainstream and "other." It is in this spirit that we offer the online exhibition, Weighing In, selections from work we have recently exhibited in our Gallery, work that both embodies and builds upon the values of the Black Lives Matter movement, in the hopes of stimulating new lines of thinking and re-orienting our perspective to allow for new ideas and new possibilities.
  • Self Censorship, 2020, charcoal on paper
    Samira Abbassy Self Censorship, 2020, charcoal on paper, 40 × 33 in., (101.6 × 83.8 cm)
    In her series of drawings, Chemical Hysterical, artist Samira Abbassy takes on "... questions and ideas of how to reveal the figure as a psycho/emotional being, and how to depict a 'state of being' rather than an attempt at making an objective portrait of the figure." She goes on to say, "This drawing specifically: Self Censorship, encompasses ideas of the current social unrest. The braid binds and gags her full self expression. The figure's dualistic profile suggests current partisan factionalism. The descending figures below are parts of her splintered selves, lying in fragments under a cloud of gas beneath her skirt."
  • Daddy Changed the World, 2020, sumi ink on archival map
    Karen Finley, Daddy Changed the World, 2020, sumi ink on archival map, 10 × 14 in. (25.4 × 35.6 cm)
    Performance and visual artist Karen Finley offers a series of drawings on archival maps of the world, featuring bold statements drawn directly from the Black Lives Matter movement, and in particular, the recent murder by police of George Floyd. By boldly featuring this stark language in this fashion, she points to both the global and historical nature of racism, brought to the surface of international consciousness by recent events. 
  • In his painting, Myth Keeper, artist Christian Vincent offers a symbolic portrayal of the burden of cultural mythology that rests on our shoulders, as we stand amidst the seemingly infinite stretch of light and shadow stretching out behind us. In his video, A Small Fee, David Krippendorff utilizes text taken directly from the 1961 script of West Side Story to illustrate the continuing relevance of anti-immigrant language and sentiment that persists nearly sixty years later, today. Similarly, in her piece, Describe the way the world ends, artist Annie Vought offers a collection of posts taken from her Twitter feed, embodying the cacophony of online voices commenting on current events, including the separation and detention of immigrant families at US borders.
  • A Small Fee, 2019, single channel video
    David Krippendorff, A Small Fee, 2019, single channel video, 8 min. 51 sec. color, 1-2, Edition 1 of 6
  • Grief and Glory, 2017-2018, mixed media: epoxy, foam, MDF, metal, plastic, paint, wire, beetle wings
    Jaishri Abichandani, Grief and Glory, 2017-2018, mixed media: epoxy, foam, MDF, metal, plastic, paint, wire, beetle wings, 32 × 32 × 39 in. (81.3 × 81.3 × 99.1 cm)
    In her sculpture, Grief and Glory, artist Jaishri Abichandani portrays the figure of a black trans woman, standing on a pool of water at the center of a circle of lotuses, cross-culturally elevated to the status of deity. She stands in a gesture that can simultaneously be read as one of blessing, as well as a stance of surrender, or “Hands up, don’t shoot,” popularized by Black Lives Matter activists protesting police brutality. In his painting, 12.01., painter Mike Dargas portrays Lebanese-born trans woman Diva Maguy, who now resides in Berlin, Germany, where she founded the organization, Queens Against Borders, representing trans-activist refugees.
  • 12.01., 2016, oil on canvas
    Mike Dargas, 12.01., 2016, oil on canvas, 59.8 × 96 in. (152 × 244 cm)
  • Ethiopian-Israeli artist Nirit Takele paints bold depictions of members of her community, allowing them to fill the entire space of her canvases as primary figures in their own narrative. Despite a history of dual marginalization, both as Ethiopian Jews and Black Israelis, her paintings celebrate their beauty and strength in everyday circumstances. Moroccan-Israeli artist Orit Ben Shitrit explores, in her photo montage, the far reaching implications of isolating the nose as a cultural identifier, exploring the subtle and not so subtle ways that appearances can impact the fate of entire ethnic groups.
  • Watching Me, 2020 acrylic on canvas Distant echo of hearse’s drums cannot shatter the marbleized, 2007 archival print
    Ethiopian-Israeli artist Nirit Takele paints bold depictions of members of her community, allowing them to fill the entire space of her canvases as primary figures in their own narrative. Despite a history of dual marginalization, both as Ethiopian Jews and Black Israelis, her paintings celebrate their beauty and strength in everyday circumstances. Moroccan-Israeli artist Orit Ben Shitrit explores, in her photo montage, the far reaching implications of isolating the nose as a cultural identifier, exploring the subtle and not so subtle ways that appearances can impact the fate of entire ethnic groups.
  • Incriminations VI, 2019 pencil and acrylic on paper (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Empire Day, 2019 signed silver on gesso on board, original silverpoint drawing (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

    KRISTIAN EVJU, INCRIMINATIONS VI, 2019

  • Artist Roy Eastland’s enigmatic etching, Empire Day, depicts a wide variety of people, “... expressing, disguising and revealing something about themselves and about their times through play-acting in fancy dress.” As the artist continues, “Every cultural moment has its own prejudices and blind spots.” Incriminations VII is part of a series by artist Kristian Evju based on early 20th century female mugshots. In this combination of two separate mugshots, the individual on the left is looking at a stranger’s face, but it is her own eyes she finds there. And finally, we see Gabriel Barcia-Colombo’s sculpture, Garden of Eden, in which a Black man and a white woman, both nude, are locked in a box together, each imprisoned in their own glass tube, in close proximity to one another, but completely separated. The work begs the question of how we will rebuild our connections across all of the lines that have traditionally been used to keep us apart.
  • Garden of Eden, 2019, video Sculpture: glass, acrylic, plastic, custom circuitry
    Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, Garden of Eden, 2019, video Sculpture: glass, acrylic, plastic, custom circuitry 10.75 × 25.25 × 6.75 in. (27.3 × 64.1 × 17.1 cm), Edition 2/6