THIN SPACES: “The Invisible Work of Black Women”

James E. Lewis Museum of Art

Exhibition Date: February 15, 2020 - October 15, 2021

Workshops / Talks:

• March 12, 2020 - 11:00 am - Dr. Jessica M. Johnson - “The Veil” talk

• March 14, 2020 - 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Natural and Practical Light Workshop with Schaun Champion & Alexis Chinery

ARTIST STATEMENTS

The Black woman’s movement in the world — movement within the “thin spaces” where heaven and earth collide. The places where “miracles” happen. Seeing black women as earthbound deities living out their lives helping each other, themselves, their loved ones, and their community with little to no desire for reward or acknowledgement, but for the benefit of all. As Ama Yawson put it, “If you have the privilege of being born a black woman, it is my belief, that it is part of your divine mission to liberate yourself from all external and internalized oppression and thereby liberate the world.”

As a chaser of light, my work is centered around observing the dance between shadow and light. Shadow adds depth. A deeper story. In this series, the veil represents the ‘thing’space between those worlds (light and shadow). The spaces where miracles happen. Within the images the shadows represent the unknown stories of the black woman. The dance women, black women in particular, gracefully perform to survive and the work that often goes unnoticed and taken for granted.

- Schaun Champion