Newark, NJ ---- The Museum of Impact presents Movement Is Rising: Demystify, Destroy, Rebuild! , a pop-up exhibition that explores the idea of challenging the narrative about intersectional oppressions and exposing the ways in which evident state violence is fueled by the implicit state violence oppressed people experience continually. This exhibition, curated by Dalaeja Foreman, will be including artist Shellyne Rodriguez, Dominique Dorseau, Layqa Nuna Yawar, Vincent Romaniello, Julian Phillips, Jonathan Gardenhire, and Walter Cruz.
The Movement Is Rising: Demystify, Destroy, Rebuild! , curated by Dalaeja Foreman, demystifies the narrative around intersectional oppressions, revealing the ways in which diverse cycles of state-perpetrated violence oppress citizens daily. Whether is be racism, sexism, food in-justice or displacement; our oppressions are co-dependent and should be dismantled as such.Once the evils of our capitalist system, which were designed to benefit the few, are exposed and deconstructed, we’ll realize that unity is our binding force. Liberated space is right under our feet. Together, we will rebuild the world we need.
Presented in collaboration with Newark Arts Open Doors , this exhibition will encourage community collaborators to engage with the idea that we as oppressed people have the strength, experience and ancestral guidance to empower and imagine the live we would like to live in. Museum of Impact’s Founding Director, Monica Montgomery, will opening Newark Arts’ Open Doors reception as the keynote speaker, touching upon artists and their responses to social movements and their communities and how it can inspire impact to make change. As a community with a long history of artistic resistance, we are honored to be working in Newark.
Movement Is Rising: Demystify, Destroy, Rebuild! will have its opening on Friday, October 21st, 2016 at 5pm, in Newark’s own, Gallery Aferro and will continue to be open until November 6th, 2016. For more information on Gallery Aferro and their current and upcoming shows, view affero.org.
The Museum of Impact (MOI) inspires action by exploring self, society, art, and activism. We partner with local communities, artists, and institutions to bring relevant programs, pop ups, exhibitions and interactive experiences that amplify movements of the people and celebrate the human experience. Through our content, education, and outreach, the Museum of Impact seeks to create a more just, connected, and compassionate society.
Incandescence
Shellyne Rodriguez
Copperplated milk crate, bed of pennies
27 x 20 x 10”
Incandescence is a play on the austerity of the altar. In this case, it exalts the utility of the bodega milk crate and the ingenuity of poor and working class people of color.
The president on the penny is credited with the emancipation of the enslaved Africans of the United States. The coin is made of copper, and is only “brown” coin. It is the least valuable coin, 1 cent. Enough to say it is something, but not enough of anything.
Together this work celebrates the ingenuity and survival of a people who have had to endure structures of systemic racism and oppression, and who place almost no value on their lives.
Tic Tic Boom
Dominque Duroseau
Mixed Media
Varied
Doursea’s piece “Tic Tic Boom” explores the societal bondage of the black experience. As these gures twist and turn for escape the grasp of oppression tightens. To be a second class citizen in these divided states of America is to be constantly relegated. The sooner we understand these intricate complexities as well as the truest source of our oppression (capitalism), the sooner we can escape the grasp and taste liberation. We are black social dynamite and once we escape the bondage and explode, the world will never be the same.
Legacy to Legacy to the power of Repeat
Dominque Duroseau
Mixed Media
Varied
Legacy to Legacy The Power of Repeat speaks to the link between history and present. Racism impacts black and brown communities for generations whether it be thru genetic retention or institutional policy. It also speaks to the heavy invisible link between many oppressive forces (sexism, homophobia, racism, etc). Like this piece, these oppressive forces need one an- other for balance.
historical trauma
Layqa Nuna Yawar
Oil and acrylic on denim
5 X 4.5’
A meditation on historical trauma, from the Caribbean to the Andes. In a sexist heteropatriarchal society, woman are acknowledged first and foremost as physical objects for sexual consumption. This is especially the case for women of color, the most sexually abused women in our society. Eurocentric standards of beauty seep into communities of color thru colonized histories, mass media, education and more. Used and abused by all social structures, women of color are some of the most oppressed people on the planet yet we hold the most strength. Historically leading many social movements and being the pillars change universally.
We are worth far more than our physical shells but real- izing the beauty and inherently anti-establishment pow- er of our bodies as will empower us to oppose a system that wants us to hate ourselves. If we can’t love our- selves as we are then how can we love our communi- ties, our world or our universe? Self-love is a radical act.
Trap
Shellyne Rodriguez
Ceramic
An image too many witness, the sight of a loved one being arrested and taken into custody by the state. Al- though the police are not visible in this relief, we can feel the tension and anxiety in linger in this hallway. The question becomes, what will be the next steps in this man’s life?What are the effects on his family person and their family? The despair on their faces say it all.
I Can’t Breathe
Vincent Romaniello
Polycolor and photo transfers on recycled panel (cradled)
32 x 24”
The murder of Eric Garner shook many American citizens to the core, since his death, there have been many more martyrs at the hand of the state. With no trace of justice in sight for the Garner family or the American people. This country has continuously shown us how little it cares for the lives of the marginalized. #BlackLivesMatter #BrownLivesMatter #TransLvesMatter #IndigenousLivesMatter
Guests were invited to leave their mark on the exhibtion with the following prompt:
In the age of countless state-perpectuated violence, targeted displacement of working-class communities of color, lack of access to basic resources and little access toquality education, the oppressive system we live within has made it clear equity is not guaranteed to everyone.
Please answer on one of the flags :
when will enough to be enough? And why not now?
Answers varied, some below:
"When Black Trans Women have a life expectancy past 35!"
"When we are done thinking about it and have action."
"This is enough. We need change....people aren't ready for the change"
"When people stop focusing on their feelings getting hurt but recognize the litany of problems that continues to evolve & disguise itself. When did it become acceptable to care more for animals and plants but a human' life (person of color) is demonized... Never Now!!! Too many bullshit distractions and inability to accept the problems exist."
Untitled (E Pluribus Unum 1)
Jonathan Gardenhire
Digital Chromogenic Print mounted on Sintra
20” x 30”
This work Explores the hyper sexuality of the black male and black people in general. Stuck in the ultimate paradox, black people are often either over-sexualized or made invisible by society. The two concepts working hand in hand to maintain second-class status in our neo puritanical society.
Goal
Shellyne Rodriguez
Collage
8.5 x 11”
Basketball being the only escape/lotto being the old es- cape. In our neighborhoods, The perception of success and opportunity buy into often unrealistic inconceivable dreams much like a winning lotto ticket or a chance to play in the professional arena. For neighborhoods all alike, these dreams leave only one possible victor while the rest are forgotten forever by history, making sure the concept of a community dream becomes impossible.
25 to Life
Shellyne Rodriguez
Lotto scratch ticket, gold gun-shaped plexi glass
4 x 6”
An ode to the 1994 Clinton administration’s three strikes law, mandating 25 years- life sentences for people con- victed of three crimes or more. The sentences were of- ten disproportionate to the crimes committed and most directly affected black and brown communities. This pol- icy lead to the atrocious mass incarceration rate we see in the US today.
Ballin’
Shellyne Rodriguez
Collage
7 x 8.25”
The quintessence of the capitalist class, this work illuminates the role of the wealthy few (often wealthy white men in suits) to benefit from the hands/labor of working class people. “Ballin’” addresses the ways in which the US cooperate owned media creates the passion for materialistic desires amongst oppressed communities to maintain cooperate wealth and power. By creating conditions like poverty, homelessness and displacement for many people then convincing these people to focus on materialism (whether they can afford it or not) as a means of temporary escape from their conditions. Corporate greed keeps the capitalist machine well oiled and running. This is a psychological, physical and spiritual attack on poor and working class communities.
scrap | morsel | bits series
Dominque Duroseau
Collage, Mixed Media
Varied
The American people are bombarded with images and narratives that stereotype communities that do not sub- scribe to the imperialist white supremacist heteropatriarchal system we live in. With the scrap | morsel | bits series the artist seeks to decontextualize and recontextualize these negative images and stereotypes so they can be reclaimed. Black people have been claiming our own narrative since the first kidnapped Africans were brought on to the shores of this stolen land. The reclaiming of our own narratives has always been seen as a threat to the establishment. The question becomes, if we are as inept of as the mainstream media would like us the believe, why would our empowerment stand a such a threat?
TRAP (Take Risk and Prosper)
Shellyne Rodriguez
Collage
11 x 16”
Risk and reward in the hood often revolve around dealing drugs/ underground economy which comes hand in glove with violent means. The reward is monetary, shedding light on the cause and effect of poverty and what it can lead one to. By being shut out of opportunities to thrive within capitalism, our communities often indulge in alternative forms of survival within a system that values pro t over human life.
VILLAGE PEOPLE & OBJECTS
Large Dog
House w Antenna
Businessman
Village Car
Village Church
Riot Cop
Protester
SUSPENDED DRONES
Royal Drone
No! Spy
Big Oil
BeeWare
Sex Drone
Sonic NO!
Imperial Drone
Holy See Starling
Spy Drone”
Vincent Romaniello
Cardboard, wood, plaster, gesso, foam
Inspired by the increased use of drones from the US military in countries abroad, this series explores the idea that diverse powers (Corporate America, Oil Companies, Monarchy, Hyper-Sexualization) are the metaphorical drones that erupt within communities across the US. As the use of drones increases, so will awareness of the controversies surrounding them, especially when proposed for use in our own neighborhoods. This work is intended to raise questions about the media, public privacy, and political polarization.
Mammy Was Here collage series
Dominque Duroseau
Collage, Mixed Media
From wet-nurse to mammy, black woman have been behind the scenes, creating the perfect reality for everyone else throughout this country’s history. Especially white families. The persistence of women of color (specifically from the Caribbean, South America and throughout Asia) continuing to be nannies and engaging in other forms of servitude for wealthier (usually white) families shows us this country isn’t as far from it’s ugly past as it likes to claim. Further perpetuating racial hierarchy.
Kevin Moore
Layqa Nuna Yawar
Acrylic on paper
12 x 12”
A man, Kevin Moore, witnessed and recorded the arrest of Freddie Gray in Baltimore and was consequently harassed, arrested at gunpoint and released without charges or an explanation. Our system claims to be “just” and in the interest of the people but time and time again we witness citizens being punished for the exercising the very rights this country holds so near and dear. Time and time again we see, the law most often works against the protection and liberty of our communities.
Untitled
Julian Phillips
Julia Phillips explores the influence of stereotypes on the black male experience in the U.S. forcing people into stereotypes makes it easier to dehumanize them, easier to kill them in the streets.
Untitled
Walter Cruz
Acrylic on Canvas
5 x 6’
Cruz’ piece is about understanding the history of public housing in the US and how we can reimagine it to no longer include overbearing and ominous housing tow- ers. He explores how we can use our skills and knowledge to make effective public housing. What it looks like when we take people into consideration during the de- sign process of public housing. Public housing should be a tool that helps citizens, not one that disempowers them and tie them into systemic disenfranchisement.
Cultural Capital
Shellyne Rodriguez
Güiro pick, Black Power afro pick, on Found Frame
8.5 x 11”
The physical interrelatedness of both afro-Latinx/ black Latinx and black cultural icons. The guira pick used to strum the guira in the popular music style of merengue in the Caribbean while the afro pick evokes a sense of power in the black community. Both become a symbol of power, inspiration, and creativity. Colonization and imperialism have historically convinced oppressed communities to focus on hierarchy and engage in antagonism toward one another. The sooner we unite, the sooner we can create a world that works for us all.
Hound Dogs
Shellyne Rodriguez
Collage
8.5 x 11”
Police are the watch-dogs for the elite. People focus on the cops while ignoring those behind the scenes who are pulling the cops strings. The conversation of police brutality should not be focused on the individual officer but should focus on a policing system that is corrupt and has been corrupt since creation. With the recent publicity of countless police murders of innocent civilians, we realize the police are dong exactly what they are trained to do, exactly was policing was created to do, societal control and maintenance of the dominance of the capitalist class.
Opening reception photos by Callie Montalvo
Opening reception performance by Julian Phillips