All of the Above

This exhibition is trying to tell to you something fundamental about humankind. That our unique experiences and differences are equally necessary, and should thus be respected as such. Sometimes social norms are social shackles. Our bodies become political because our survival depends on how our bodies are portrayed, and policed. Sometimes this is based on culture, geography, gender, language, or skin color; many times it is all of the above.

The title All of the Above refers to notions of intersectionality and how many systems of oppression can overlap.

This exhibition of 10 diverse artists, brings together unique perspectives that disrupt the viewer and challenge blissful ignorance in society.

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Narcissister
Ventiko
Nadine Faraj
Sara Meghdari
Farideh Sakhaeifar

Layo Bright
Georgia Lale
Daryl Myntia Daniels
Jasmine Dillavou
Dominique Duroseau

you are in the war zone.
Farideh Sakhaeifar
2016

Every day, cruel images of war-torn countries are posted on social media, and our response is to scroll down to unsee the reality. I identify with these images because I see kinship in it. I collect them, archive them, and refer to them. Sometimes I trace them and sometimes erase the bodies to remember the neglect of the governments against refugees and at the borders.

A Blessing
Jasmine Dillavou
2020

A Blessing is a performative ritual for children, parents, community members, loved ones lost. A headline is a headstone is a heartshake. We are responsible. This piece is a flower petal blessing, coating each delicate piece in a protective charcoal mixture and laid to rest in a woven basket-boat. Each petal stands for each person taken due to Police Violence. The entirety of the piece runs 1 hour and 30 min. The layered text reads:

“May your body be laid to rest in a proper ray of love. Rip a name from a headline, coat it in a lover’s blessing, coat it in sacred water and charcoal. Scar it within yourself.”

I shouldn’t have to explain Shit
Dominique Duroseau
2015

In a series of texts/prints/photography works, I was analyzing the etymology of the Haitian Creole word “nèg” — French spelling “nègre” translation “man or Black man” — related to and rooted in the Latin term for “black” — but has had a number of racially-charged permutations mainly in American English.

culture

\ ˈkəl-chər \

Beliefs, traditions, language, or aesthetics particular to a group of people, which can be specific or broad. I.e. company culture or cancel culture
Merriam-Webster’s 2014 word of the year, which demonstrates societies evolving relationship to how the word is used
A term often used to enforce separation and impose systemic discrimination

Zaferan on My Tongue
Sara Z. Meghdari
2019

I am an Iranian-American Interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, N.Y. My work is largely driven by my bi-cultural background of being two countries in conflict and stems specifically from my experience of living in a constant flux of cultural ambiguities. Engaging with a variety of mediums, including photography, video, installation and performance, my work takes an eclectic approach in reflecting culture as well as the self and aims to create narratives that can transcend and complicate difference.

The Debate
Georgia Lale
2019

The Debate diptych and performance aim to confront the American politics around the refugee crisis at the Mexican border and the living conditions at the Detention Centers.

I am concerned with examining my relationship with lines. Lines of identity, culture, ancestry, family, migration, and trade. Literally and figuratively I use materials to map my experiences, as an African woman, within and outside the African diaspora/continent.
I use “Ghana-must-go bags” (a synthetic material made of thermoplastic known in the US as the “Chinatown tote” bag and often likened to the “Ikea” bag) as I am interested in how the bags originated in Japan, and have became known in different parts of the world as linked to migrant experiences, trade, and a cheap item of necessity. This moniker was adopted in Nigeria following xenophobic policies in the 1980s that led to the forceful exodus of over 2 million Ghanaians; and I use them to address xenophobic/anti-immigration policies/border imperialism in the current global landscape.
In my most recent works, I'm interested in delineating the lines that form my identity as an African woman and migrant working in the US. The lines are evident in the materials I use and how I structure my sculptures: the facial lines/scarification pertaining to my identity as a Yoruba (tribe) woman from Ife (Nigeria)—the facial lines are known to signify the 'Ife bronze head' artifacts, and the lines on the Ghana must go bags pertaining to migrant journeys, borders, and mapping in my mind.
“Gele,” a type of headtie worn in Nigeria and many parts of Africa, is recurrent in my works. Growing up in Nigeria and watching my mum (and eventually myself as I grew older) tie gele for every occasion ranging from church to weddings to funerals and parties, was something I understood to be representational of our femininity, our culture as African women and a 'crown' of sorts. I'm interested in the politics of headdress in black womens' history and use my likeness and 'gele' headtie to explore this.
African history has shaped much of black perception, identity, trade, gender politics, culture, diaspora, and social policies—and by extension defines the global landscape. Whether it's through the xenophobic histories inherent in the 'Ghana must go bag,' which have similar migrant & nomadic bearings in many countries around the world; or the 'gele,' which I use to examine the global histories of black women’s agency and rights historically (e.g. the Tignon Laws); or the facial markings, which I use to consider the bonds that connect black bodies within and outside the African continent.

Abelmoschus esculentus (Okra)
Layo Bright
2020

My practice explores narratives of migration, gender, xenophobia, race, and identity through self-portraits, textiles and historical African design techniques. I use textiles, symbols, and representational marks pertaining to African history and legacy, especially those prevalent in my tribe—Yoruba.

race

\ ˈrās \

Commonly referred to as a family, tribe, people, nation or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, and specific physical characteristics
A highly flawed concept that originated in the 18th century, that uses geographical location and phenotype traits like skin color to place people into different racial groupings
A term often used to enforce separation and impose systemic discrimination

George Floyd Protest May 30th
Ventiko
2020

Experiencing the protests as both protestor and photographer provided me on the ground access to capture the shifting power dynamics and voice of the “storyteller.” Continually expanding who tells and depicts the “story,” especially on mainstream media, will allow the full narrative, rather than biased versions, to be represented.

Power to the Pick: Portrait of Joan Little
Daryl Myntia Daniels
2019

Joan Little had the courage to defend her body and her community had the courage to support her rights, regardless of her background. She is a hero to me, and this painting is a symbol and celebration for self-defense.

White Silence Is Violence
Nadine Faraj
2016

This painting is part of my Naked Revolt series which honors the activists who defy societal norms by publicly protesting topless. I’m stating as a white person: white silence is violence. This artwork is about speaking up when
necessary, especially in white spaces where attitudes need to be challenged.

Corrine Fletcher (ACLU of Oregon), 2016: “As a white person, I recognize that I need to do something instead of stepping away from this. I recognize that [remaining silent] is wrong, and it is exactly what white supremacy depends on white people to continue to do. I am stepping up as an ally and accomplice right now because it is the right thing to do, and you should too.”

I’m stating as a white person: white silence is violence. This artwork is about speaking up when necessary, especially in white spaces where attitudes need to be challenged. This may be at home, in school, at work, or online. There will be times to stand up and defend someone against harmful words or actions; it doesn’t have to be perfect. There are resources available to learn how to do this most effectively if you need them.
Malcolm X, 1964: “America’s racism is among... whites. That’s where sincere whites who really mean to accomplish something have got to work.”

However, in certain cases, you’ve got to take an opportunity to shut up. White people are the source of the problem of racism, and so we have the most to learn. In general, try to seek out information on your own and educate yourself. Know that there will be moments when it’s best not to take up space that should be used by black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, or Muslim people, or any folks who have been made to feel other. In these moments it’s best to be quiet, to listen and learn.
I have been using watercolors a lot lately because they are teaching me to be fluid and because in portraits they can be used to represent the watery aspect of our nature. It is so vital to life that we say water is life. I feel the need to celebrate life more than ever as the adversities we are all facing today increase in intensity. The fluidity of watercolor is a reminder to keep moving, keep growing.
This political tactic has been used by Nigerian and other African women for generations to express their exasperation at injustice and to shame the guilty parties. Recently this tactic has been adopted by FEMEN for womxn’s rights in Europe and by the BlackOUT Collective in San Francisco (2015) to raise awareness for #SayHerName.

gender

\ ˈjen-dər \

Separate from sexual orientation
‘They’ – This gender neutral pronoun was Merriam-Webster’s 2019 word of the year
A term often used to enforce separation and impose systemic discrimination

Participation Totem Installation
Narcissister
2019

With Narcissister, Studies for Participatory Sculptures, the artist casts multiple others in a collective, durational action, expanding upon a generative process of unmooring roles and identities, and, in doing so, shifting visual and kinesthetic experience of changing perspectives. Narcissister’s new work is as intrepid as it is humorous, challenging assumptions of feminism and the art world at every turn.

“Most recently my artistic output has expanded to include what I call “Participatory Sculpture” works. Essential to the completion of these sculpture works is the participation of live Narcissister performers. In the example presented here, actual women in Narcissister masks blend in with the silicone dolls to create The Totem. This sculpture subverts and contemporizes a conventional notion of a totem pole and is also a commentary on the concept of artists “standing on the shoulders of artists that came before them,” an almost obligatory and cliched pathway for speaking or writing about one’s own work or the work of others. To what extent is an artist obligated to claim that their work is only possible because of the work made before them and what are the politics of this art world convention? “

-Narcissister 2020

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Narcissister

Ventiko

Nadine Faraj

Sara Meghdari

Farideh Sakhaeifar

Layo Bright

Georgia Lale

Daryl Myntia Daniels

Jasmine Dillavou

Dominique Duroseau

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