Holiday 24
Jeffrey Gibson is known for creating installations, performances, paintings, and sculptures that elevate and provide visibility to queer and Indigenous communities. Gibson’s Power Full Because We’re Different is a newly commissioned immersive installation that occupies the expansive Building 5 gallery at MASS MoCA. It features seven oversized garments adorned with beads and found materials organized in kaleidoscopic patterns, suspended from the ceiling on tipi poles or worn during performances. Also a part of this exhibition are video installations that show Gibson wearing all seven garments—including the one pictured above—almost unaware of the camera, yet still conscious of being seen. The videos are inspired by legendary designer and performance artist Leigh Bowery, a longtime influence for Gibson’s work. Two texts appear on this particular garment: The sleeves say "people like us,” and then embroidered on the chest (which you can’t see in this image) is the text "i'm haunted by you.” Gibson, of Choctaw and Cherokee descent and based in Hudson, New York, has been making garments both as sculpture and for performance since the early 2010s. The garments are informed by regalia worn in faith-based ceremonies, and, for Gibson, they pay homage to the past while signaling hope for the future. Power Full is hosting a series of performances by Indigenous creatives from across North America, including musician Laura Ortman, of White Mountain Apache descent, on Saturday, January 25, during MASS MoCA’s Free Day. massmoca.org
— Anastasia Stanmeyer
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