On View: gal·va·nizing strat·e·gies: [Black on Black with Black]

How can we go about occupying spaces and forging relationships while we can be seen as disposable? In gal·va·nizing strat·e·gies: [Black on Black with Black], former LES Studio Program resident Dominique Duroseau explores pillars of existence and acceptance as a Black woman and in times of solitude.

Duroseau’s series of sculptural wall pieces, [Black on Black on Black with Black], navigate the false monolith of Black existence. A [re]-fusing of Blackness, the compositions of found and bought materials piece together complex conceptual and visual patterns to create body-scaled enfacements. The various forms of black material—plastic bags, thrifted clothing, floor tiles, packing materials—are carefully deconstructed, recontextualized, configured, and hand-stitched to represent the nuances of class, education, and characteristics of identity. Through the abstract configuration of difference, the resultant work offers a stratagem on ways individuals can coexist, communicate, and repair as Black people.

Diaristic audio tracks run adjacent to Duroseau’s physical works, guiding viewers through the artist’s self-portrait. Contemplating the Black body and Black presence during the solitude of the pandemic, Duroseau would record herself speaking to capture the span of emotions she experienced, including the longing for touch and physical presence. In recording her own voice addressing an absent audience, Duroseau could conjure the presence of others, however ephemeral. When brought out of Duroseau’s private studio space, these vocal performances question how Black existence survives within and despite oppressive systems of patriarchy, white supremacy, and colonialism. Implying Duroseau’s physical existence through the form and presence of her voice, the recordings dissolve into atmospheric space and push viewers to question the impermanence of presence.

When combined in the gallery space, these two bodies of work reflect from a personal perspective to tell a larger story of dehumanization and discrimination while asking pressing questions about the Black American experience.