Colony Little delves into the ecological portraits crafted by Claire Alexandre, who employs natural elements to examine the history of the Black diaspora. In a review for Burnaway, she discusses the artist’s exhibition in Raleigh, which highlights the story of Harriet Jacobs. Jacobs, an enslaved woman from Edenton, North Carolina, escaped her enslaver in 1835 and spent seven years hidden in her grandmother’s attic before fleeing north. Alexandre’s work draws on the concept of marronage, where enslaved individuals found refuge in inaccessible terrains, creating communities sustained by the land’s resources.
Sarah Brouillette, writing for the Los Angeles Review of Books, evaluates Sophie Bishop’s new book, which investigates the influence of social media and algorithms on artists’ online engagement. Bishop follows in the footsteps of Howard S. Becker, exploring how ‘art worlds’ shape artistic production and visibility. She refrains from moralizing about influencers, instead seeking to understand the impact of ‘influencer creep’ on art. Through interviews, Bishop uncovers the ambivalence artists feel towards social media, seeing it as a necessary yet limiting engagement.
Madeleine Schwartz provides an account of her visit to a Paris exhibition featuring artifacts from Gaza, highlighting the region’s overlooked history. Displayed at the Institut du Monde Arabe, these pieces reveal a rich heritage that has remained understudied. Curator Élodie Bouffard, alongside archaeologist René Elter, notes that archaeological interest in Gaza began serendipitously in 1879 with the discovery of a Zeus statue, now housed in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. However, the region’s ancient past remains largely unexplored due to historical biases in archaeological research.
In LGBTQ Nation, Greg Owen interviews Dr. Nasser Mohamed about his challenging asylum process in the US. As the only publicly gay person in Qatar, Mohamed endured an invasive interview focused on proving his sexuality. Despite the difficulties, Mohamed humorously noted his belief that his asylum officer was likely gay.
Lauren Theisen’s article in Defector critiques the US men’s hockey team for their homophobic and misogynistic behavior, which tarnished their Olympic appearance. The team’s conduct, including laughing at derogatory jokes made by President Trump, exposed underlying prejudices. Their presence at the White House and the State of the Union speech added to the controversy, raising questions about the integrity of sportsmanship.
