EXPO CHICAGO 2023

Select works from this series were presented at Fabienne Levy Gallery's booth at the 2023 edition of Expo Chicago. The vestige points of the series are conflict and autonomy–particularly youth autonomy. One of the inspirations for the subject is writing by scholar and critic Bell Hooks. The works in this series borrow stylistic vocabulary from comic strips across various time periods. They personify a swiftness in rendering and visual organisation. The works in the series follow in sequence with minimal use of text. The series also implies the overlap of time and the fragility of memory as we age, often becoming unreliable narrators. For example, the viewer must rely on the main subject’s memory latching to significant moments to conclude the events occurred on a Sunday afternoon. The elephant in the room is a yellow itchy lace dress referenced in the title of, ironically, the most sizable of the works: Sowing Seeds: Chinedum’s Itchy Yellow Lace Dress. This imploding scene borrows language from the dramatisation of 2000s African Magic Movies, which are visceral, layered, and richly beautiful fictional realities. The idea of beauty attributed to some scenes in the series could be absurdist and subjective to an unfamiliar gaze. It opens up questions surrounding tradition, cultural differences, and subjectivity. However, the works conjure discussions about the aftereffects of loss of autonomy and how that can evolve in future selves–giving up, hoping, rejecting projection of or replicating perceived actions. There are other nuanced ways impactful imprints develop collectively and individually over time. Often, confronting the topic of youth autonomy begins with investigating domestic spaces. Centring this discussion at a time when public and private spheres commonly meet in a melting pot through widespread contemporary media, it is both sensitive and critical to examine. It highlights questions of nuance in upbringing juxtaposed against standardisation, expectancies, and desires of the individual, communal, and social contributions to supervising youths. The domestic sphere always echoes grande social phenomena and can be a transformative place to identify these issues. These junctures are worth discussing with care and urgency. 

Detail Shot of Sowing seeds: Chinedum’s itchy yellow lace dress