Colony Little offers a keen examination of Claire Alexandre’s ecological portraits, which utilize natural materials to delve into Black diasporic history. In a Burnaway review, Alexandre’s exhibition in Raleigh is highlighted, featuring Harriet Jacobs’ harrowing escape from slavery in North Carolina. Jacobs hid for seven years in her grandmother’s attic before fleeing north. Alexandre’s work touches upon marronage, a self-emancipatory practice among enslaved Africans who sought refuge in remote areas like swamps. These communities thrived using the land’s resources and Alexandre represents these liberatory practices with plant materials known for their healing properties.
In the Los Angeles Review of Books, Sarah Brouillette analyzes Sophie Bishop’s exploration of social media’s impact on artists. Bishop, working in the tradition of Howard S. Becker, examines ‘influencer creep’ and its effect on art visibility. Her interviews reveal artists’ ambivalence towards social media, often participating out of necessity rather than choice. This ambivalence sheds light on the limited options available to them and the pressures of compliance in the art world.
Madeleine Schwartz, writing for the New York Review of Books, shares insights from a Paris exhibition showcasing artifacts from Gaza, a region with a rich yet understudied ancient history. Located in the Institut du Monde Arabe’s basement, the exhibition displays artifacts with minimal labeling, underscoring the neglected archaeological interest in Gaza. Curator Élodie Bouffard explains that the area’s heritage has been overlooked, with early archaeological discoveries occurring by chance, such as the 1879 unearthing of a Zeus statue.
Greg Owen from LGBTQ Nation interviews Dr. Nasser Mohamed, the only openly gay person from Qatar, about his challenging US asylum process. Mohamed describes the lengthy and intrusive nature of his interview, which focused on proving his sexuality. Despite the difficulty, Mohamed found some humor in the situation, suspecting that his asylum officer might also be gay.
Lauren Theisen critiques the US men’s hockey team’s behavior in Defector, highlighting issues of homophobia and misogyny in Olympic sports. The team’s actions at a post-competition celebration and subsequent visit to the White House with former President Trump reveal deeper cultural problems within the sport. The players’ reluctance to address these issues publicly reflects a larger failure to respect women and embrace inclusivity in athletics.
