Holding Up / Holding With: Rethinking Resilience
Rosalux presents Holding Up / Holding With: Rethinking Resilience.
Artists: Rajine Williams, AK Garski, Talulah R.M., Nikki McComb
Curated by Betsy Alwin
The artists in this exhibition rethink what it means to endure. They question ableist systems, disrupt structures, and challenge the status quo measures of success. Resilience is both a coping mechanism and a word to be redefined.
About the exhibition:
Resilience! Resilience held an outsized space in our psyche during the past three years. The word itself, with respect to a world situation well outside of personal control, embodies the ideas of strength and grit along with perseverance and health. It also became a fraught word worth questioning. At once bandied as a light inspirational idea, the word became heavily laden with the unevenness and imbalance of circumstance. It’s a word that conjures the image of pulling oneself up by their bootstraps. Inevitably, resilience defines those who can survive or thrive within the confines of a situation: “in spite of.” We are obsessed with the individual’s ability to endure.
About Blue Black: This piece is called “Blue Black”. It’s inspired by black people who are very dark in complexion almost looking ‘blue’. I took it literally by painting her in blue hues. She is reminiscent of the ‘Jim Crow’ era caricatures. The background is a collage of images and quotes that resonated with me. A few quotes are from Claudia Ranke’s book ‘Just Us’ and quotes from black women from an issue of Essence magazine.
Her hair is adorned with cotton (decorations I bought from Michaels that were marked as Xmas decorations 🥴) as it has strong ties to the Black/African American population in America.
This piece is a rework. I found the original painting at Savers. I was in awe of the handcrafted detail the frame had. The original painting was built into the canvas so my only option was to paint over it. Please see ‘Honoring Our Roots’ under the ‘Practice"‘ tab for more details on this piece.
Blue Black is 12x16”. The piece is available here: