Bloodlines

MAY 20 - JUNE 24, 2017

Curated by Martina Dodd

Lisa Hill, Tsedaye Makonnen, Samera Paz, Iman Person and members of the àjé collective

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Transformer presents, Bloodlines–a group exhibition seeking to challenge the societal norms and restraints imposed on the female form, and exploring the external and internal pressures and pleasures of the body.

Drawing from their own personal and collective experiences, artists Lisa Hill, Tsedaye Makonnen, Samera Paz, Iman Person and members of the àjé collective examine the corporeal connectivity of their ancestral histories through works on paper, sculpture, and performance. Works featured in Bloodlines tow the line between fascination and repulsion, directly addressing the stigmas associated with a woman's menstrual cycle, while subtly exploring the effects of time on the physical and social body by shifting the meaning and interpretation of selfhood.  

Martina expands; “Through abstract renderings, Paz and Person both use their own menstrual blood as a medium, placing the viewer at the will of the material, while Hill’s fragile yet imposing installation also commands attention as she references the invisible inheritance passed down from mother to offspring by reproducing the shedding, scarring, and regeneration of skin on handmade paper. Through the exhibition’s performance programming Makonnen highlights the intense physicality of birth while the àjé collective’s performance explores the narrative ecologies of ‘moonblood’.”

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

The àjé collective is a queer Black trans-media exploration of the erotic complexities of menstrual blood.

Lisa Hill is a fine artist, graphic/interactive designer, and educator. She is the Assistant Dean for the Communication Design Program at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and has also taught at Johns Hopkins University and the Corcoran College of Art + Design. Her fine art work is represented nationally in many private collections and has exhibited her work nationally and internationally. She was awarded an honorary grant from the Arts Council of Montgomery County, Maryland. She received her B.A. in Fine Arts/Graphic Design from the University of Florida and her M.F.A. in Studio Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).

Tsedaye Makonnen is an Ethiopian-American interdisciplinary artist. Recurring themes presented in her work are identity, migration, colorism, womanhood, ritual and kinship. She's drawn to conveying the African Diaspora's creative responses to assimilating, destroying and recreating the Self within new territories. As of late, she has been connecting the migrations of the Diaspora taking place in U.S. cities and abroad through performance art, sculpture and installations. She considers herself a performance and installation artist, creating sculptures, experiences and participatory pieces that implicate the audience. Makonnen has performed in D.C. at the Corcoran Gallery, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

Iman Person is an interdisciplinary artist working in Atlanta, Georgia.  Her work engages with the dichotomies of self-hood and magical consciousness through the ethereal lens of nature. Person embeds qualities of the feminine, memory and ritual through drawing, installation, and performance in order to mend the logical and mystical bodies, and incite exploration of these forgotten spaces. Through the mergence of these ideals, Person believes a resurrection of the contemporary divine-body can be made and in turn positively affect our new synthetic landscape. In 2010 she received her B.F.A from Georgia State University and has become a fixture both in exhibition spheres and public art arenas.  In 2012, she was included in Barbara Archer Gallery’s, “Talent Loves Company”, and named one of the 30 most influential artists in Atlanta.  She is a member of the Atlanta based collective, Dashboard Co-Op, is a 2011 Hambidge fellow and is 2013-2014 Walthall fellow.

Samera Paz is a 22-year-old photographer, visual artist, organizer and art student at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. Originally from Washington D.C. she began photography at the age of 16. Her interest in photography led into advocacy work where she studied how to use art to create social change in my community. She is pursuing a career as a photojournalist and war photographer.

Martina Dodd is a DC based art historian and curator. Her concept driven shows have touched on topics relating to race, gender, and power dynamics.  She is intrigued by the ways in which value is placed on art and seeks to examine the social impact material culture has on society.

EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING

Opening Reception
Saturday, May 20, 6 - 8pm

The Crowning
A Performance by Tsedaye Makonnen:
Thursday, May 25, 6:30-7:30pm

Cosmic Meditation
A Performance by the àjé collective
Saturday, June 3rd 8-9pm

EXHIBITION HOURS: Wednesday-Saturday, 12-6pm and by appointment.