Alicia Henry: (un)knowing

February 9 to May 18, 2024
Christian-Green Gallery

For over four decades, Alicia Henry has investigated the representation of the body, identity, and human experiences. Her mixed-media sculptures and installations incorporate found materials, textiles, and other elements to depict human figures or heads, which she manipulates and distorts to produce what Caribbean writer and philosopher Édouard Glissant called opacity. According to Glissant, defining the self creates a “transparency” that actually obscures those aspects of the self that are difficult to grasp. Instead, he argued, we ought to embrace opacity, which acknowledges the impossibility of understanding completely everything that makes us. This exhibition features works that highlight the challenges of accepting this impossibility—and the freedom that can be found in such acceptance, as well.

By distorting and transforming the human form, Henry challenges traditional notions of identity, making way for new narratives and interpretations. For example, the installation Untitled (Fragments) (2019) features cutouts that alternate between abstract shapes and depictions of body parts such as heads, arms, and legs. Through this deliberate fragmentation of portraiture, Henry raises questions about the relationship between agency and identity and what it is to see and to be seen. The artist also explores the fluidity and complexity of Black experiences, as in the layered portraits she creates by sewing together various fabrics to produce the appearance of multiple faces overlapping like masks. These works highlight the constant tension between legibility and obscurity in portraiture, while also absolving it of the responsibility to produce complete rationality and clarity.

In (un)knowing, the artist layers materials such as dye, acrylic, thread, and linen, which she has said allows her to “tap into the psychological and spiritual functions of ritual masks in African cultures, portraiture, and social wearing of masks that represent layers of identities.” This invites viewers to engage with the sculptures and installations on a visceral level, prompting us to reflect on our own perceptions and preconceptions of Blackness. In this way, Henry’s work contributes to a broader discourse on the complexities of Black identity and the importance of recognizing its labile nature.

Phillip Townsend, AGBS Curator of Art