this Saturday march 30, marks the closing of Refiguring the Future – a 2019 group exhibit I am a part of – at 205 Hudson Street Gallery.

my newest developing contemporary work “markings” is part of this exhibit; performative impressions that center disabled and Deaf folx through an intersectional lens.  the work on view for the exhibit reflects an unfolding process to develop floor “markings”, as well as an ASL video collaboration with Deaf Spectrum featuring Nur Abdulle signing. a performative action that initiated the floor markings occurred on February 8 – the opening of the exhibition –  and further unfolded over a three days process.  during the three days, disabled folx [and some ableds] were offered the option to leave an impression on a 6 x 8 foot piece of grey painted corrugated cardboard.  I then detailed each impression with colored pencils, further shaping the mark. the second day more crip folx showed up and dialogued about the work, witnessed my initial embodiment of each mark that had been left, and left more impressions. The third day I concluded the process by embodying each marking, imbuing them with a physical action that signified the labor of presence, an acknowledgement of those d/Deaf and disabled bodies for whom the action/labor of being present in spaces like this gallery is not always an option in an ableist world.

the image above from the opening also emphasizes the importance of the placement of the floor piece, ultimately becoming an “intervention” to those who used stairs.

below are some images taken by Geoff Albores and Orlando Hunter during the further activation of this work. The images include stills of the floor markings and the video collaboration.