With the promo for my upcoming Return to Figurative group show at Studio Sixty Six underway, I think it's incredibly important to take the time to thank some people who, whether they know it or not, I credit for inspiring, influencing, and empowering the Arrivants series I created for the show. This excerpt from my artist statement is what I'm talking about:
Impacted by the work of her peers of artists and poets mainly from the African Diaspora, Corre has been increasingly cognizant of which and/or whose bodies are being represented in her work, and whose stories she is in a position to tell. Choosing to photograph and represent HATAW in these pieces is not only a celebration of the matriarch in Filipinx culture, but also a radical move on Corre’s part to place her identity at the center of her creations.
So thank you: Ojo Aji, Kalkidan Assefa, Ikenna Onyegbula, Komi Olaf, Titilope Sonuga, Mique Michelle, The PA System, House of PainT, Ilona Fiddy, Vinta, Mango Peeler, Melanie Yugo, Ness Lee... all of you for leading the way by exploring your histories and identities and creating mirrors and spaces for brown and black and yellow and indigenous bodies in your work. Thank you to Kapisanan Centre for Philippine Arts & Culture for lighting the first tiny sparks of curiousity about what it is to be Filipino way back from your space in the Kensington Market basement. Thank you to HATAW for stoking those sparks to full on fire a decade later with your High Blood performance, and for welcoming me to photograph your rehearsal for these pieces. Thank you Rose and Carrie at Studio Sixty Six for the challenge of this show, for the freedom to tackle it, and for the platform and venue to share it. I am so grateful. I am so psyched. Please take the time to check out these incredible people/artists.
The show opens July 6th (6-9 pm, 66 Muriel St Ottawa) and goes until August 19th - stop by if you're able, say hi at the opening, and don't be shy about sharing your thoughts! I'm so, so excited to share these works.
