Exposing The Limits
November 14th, 2020 - February 27th, 2021
The COVID19 pandemic and recent Black Lives Matter actions have illuminated a slew of inequities and injustices present in our society. There has been much discussion and press about how these occurrences have ‘exposed the limits’ of things like our healthcare system, childcare capabilities, unemployment safety nets, and more.
Exposing the Limits is a group exhibition examining the inequities and stigmas associated with race, gender, and class. The works in this show explore personal identity through social constraints and definitions, exposing the limits of collective knowledge and expectations, and revealing the injustice that results. The exhibition includes works by artists Asa Featherstone, Prince Lang, Kawita Vatanajyankur, and Xia Zhang. Exhibition curated by Calcagno Cullen.
Local artist Asa Featherstone creates video and still photography works that examine the human experience and bring new perspectives to things widely understood. For this exhibition, Featherstone is exhibiting OVER/TIME, a collection of self-portraits that investigates the widely-experienced traumatic everyday encounters of racism that don't get televised.
Prince Lang, also a Cincinnati-based artist, is exhibiting a series entitled Master’s House, an on-going archive of black and white photographs of household items. The photos are a direct response to Audre Lorde’s essay, The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House. His initial response led him to archive all the physical tools and objects in my house–taking the essay literally. This clinical documentation now serves as a departure point to investigate specific historical apparatus like the Peekskill Riots and Fugitive Slave Law.
Kawita Vatanajyankur deliberately objectifies her body, turning it into tools for domestic labor through endurance performances that draw attention to and question the traditional roles of women. Vatanajyankur has achieved significant recognition for her work world-wide and is based in Thailand. Two video works from her ‘Performing Textiles’ series will be on view.
Xia Zhang recently relocated from Tulsa, OK after receiving a position at the University of Cincinnati. She is a multimedia artist who works at the intersectional concepts of craft, colonialism, and femininity. Her work for this exhibition examines shame in relationship to culture, race, and colonialism. The Flesh Mesh Shame Quilt included in the exhibition aims to collectively ruminate on deeply seeded feelings of shame caused by subversive and overt repercussions of White Supremacy.