Jalen Hamilton: To Whom This Ground Belongs
@ Blanc Gallery
4445 S Martin Luther King Dr, Chicago, 60653
Opening Saturday, June 11th, from 6PM - 9PM
On view through Friday, July 22nd
Blanc Gallery is excited to present the work of Chicago-based artist, Jalen Hamilton, who will be transforming the gallery into a beautiful installation of photography, ephemera, audio and text with his first solo exhibition, To Whom This Ground Belongs.
Centered on a collection of recorded conversations and portraits Hamilton has made with his family members, To Whom This Ground Belongs urges us to ask where we come from in order to know better where we aim to go. For Hamilton, this is not a neutral task. Pulling the title from a poem he wrote for a short film titled, A Celebration Of Us (2021), the provocation is simple: the land on which we live is contested, and we must challenge the dominant narratives wielded to disinherit African-American communities of their power and potential. Hamilton sees the work of archiving his family’s history, image and stories as part of a recuperative process to create scripts from which new futures might be constructed. From behind the eyes of beautifully rendered photos of men, women and children spanning generations and geographic locations, you are prompted to look deeper, to get closer and to listen to what these people have to say. These are images of black family that remind you of the exceptional breadth of the Black experience while simultaneously invoking the many untold and unheard stories that link Black folk together across time and space.
Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, June 11 from 6-9pm.
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Tags: Blanc Gallery, bronzeville, Chicago, Jalen Hamilton, To Whom This Ground Belongs
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