66.0 x 45.7 cm
Characteristic of Pope’s practice, the works on view convey a multiplicity of meanings. Her interest in poetry remains, although now in a more abstract form that departs from her text-based works; this notable departure suggests the profound absence of an adequate language to discuss the horrors of the current moment. Standing Strong, a ladder covered in an accumulation of black boxing hand-wraps (the number of which corresponds to the number of African American men killed by gun violence in Chicago this year), evokes the urban condition of being in two worlds at once – one foot on the ground, one foot in the grave. Caught a Chill, a series of birdcages covered in black yarn, containing music boxes that play notes corresponding to the 6-tone scale of the Solfeggio frequencies, ancient components of sacred music such as Gregorian chants, studies of which have revealed healing properties. Here, the bars of the oppressor and the flight of the oppressed are both present. Portrait of a Young Man is a visual song about the life and experience of a young African American man and was recorded entirely using a police body camera. According to the artist, through her particular method of poetic journalism she probes the problematically “authoritative” voice of the camera, raising questions about the state of law, justice and surveillance in America today.
During the exhibition’s opening on November 10, Pope will present the first in a series of performances meant to portray “aesthetic strategies to maintain power.” The artist has invited Lady Lake Shore Drive, a former Chicago police officer turned spirit caller, to participate in a collaborative performance: Pope will ritualistically cleanse the sidewalk outside the gallery, while Lady Lake Shore Drive uses her voice to call, heal, and speak to the spirits of recent victims of gun violence. Through action and through song, the performance will engage the community outside of the gallery walls, and will attest to the ghosts – of human lives lost, of past traumas, both physical and emotional – portrayed and awakened by the work inside.
An encore performance will take place on Saturday, November 12 at 3pm, presented in conjunction with the newly expanded Gallery Weekend Chicago.
