‘Perry’s aim is to give agency to the black meme, imbuing it with a radical purpose that no longer infects just the internet but physical space.’ –Bomb Magazine, 2017.Powerful winds roared into California in the western United States on Wednesday, toppling trees as crews rushed to clear storm drains and residents fortified their homes in preparation for flooding and power outages.Ĭalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to allow for a quick response and to aid in the cleanup after another powerful storm pummelled the state just days earlier.ĭozens of flights were cancelled at the San Francisco International Airport and South San Francisco schools preemptively cancelled Thursday classes for their 8,000 students “out of an abundance of caution”.Īs the storm intensified, state officials asked drivers to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary and to stay informed by signing up for updates about downed trees and power lines, as well as flooding. With viral imagery of black deaths in the US both sensationalised and the subject of widely disseminated memes, Perry wants to (re-)claim this digital space by foregrounding the use of technologies in her work. This principle of open access in Perry’s practice aims to privilege black life, to democratise access to art and culture, and to offer a critical platform that differentiates itself from the portrayal of blackness in the media. Perry is committed to net neutrality and ideas of collective production and action, using open source software to edit her work and leasing it digitally for use in galleries and classrooms, while also making all her videos available for free online. This exhibition continued the Serpentine’s engagement with Perry’s practice, following her acclaimed performance for Park Nights 2016, where she shared a billing with the American poets Fred Moten and Eileen Myles. Perry has said: “I’m interested in thinking about how blackness shifts, morphs, and embodies technology to combat oppression and surveillance throughout the diaspora. ![]() ![]() Her use of digital tools and material, ranging from blue screen technology and 3D avatars to found footage from the internet, reflects on these modes of representation and the abstraction of black identity in art and media. Perry makes work about blackness, black femininity and African American heritage, often taking her personal history as a point of departure. This site-specific installation at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery incorporated existing works by Perry, including Graft and Ash for a Three-Monitor Workstation (2016), a 3-D avatar of the artist questioning the current productivity and efficiency culture, and Wet and Wavy Looks – Typhoon coming on (2016), which both references and digitally alters JMW Turner’s painting. ![]() Turner’s 1840 painting Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On), the original work depicts the drowning of 133 slaves by the captain of the British slave ship, Zong, to claim compensation for these ‘goods’ under the salvage clause of the ship’s insurance policy. Featuring a digitally manipulated image of J.M.W. She created an immersive environment with a newly-conceived soundscape to accompany her animation Typhoon coming on (2018). This exhibition was the first solo presentation of Perry’s work in Europe.
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