Tyler Williams – “In the Colophony, a Sticky Mess”

Artist's Reception Friday May 3, 2019 5-6pm. Photography Workshop 6-7pm.

Artist Statement:
In current times, where black bodies are extremely visible due to a necessary movement for self-defense, who is given the space to be heard has become more censored.  With a media creating lovable and digestible Lupita Nyong'os, Oprah Winfreys, Jay-Zs, and Obamas the percentage of "successful blacks" (or as W.E.B. DuBois theories as the Talented Tenth) is dwarfed by the black proletariat, who is treated as an embarrassing rash.  This idea of success within black culture essentially means being white adjacent, and dispelling major characteristics of black culture.  What I do not want to do is entertain the concept of reinforcing racist stereotypes, and I don't want to praise shows like Blackish, Empire, and the Cosby Show's rags to riches rhetoric as a #BlackExcellence project.

I intend on offering black folk their autonomous freedom to represent themselves, while hopefully sowing inquisitive thoughts on why they aren't granted that right.  This will be done in documentation format, where I will collaborate with Black Americans from low-income hoods through photography and performance.

Tyler Cala Williams, on his practice:
I desire to create a space for Blacks with multiple identities to choose for themselves how they want to be heard, represented, and prideful of; as I myself finds a place within my work to do the same.  Using this route as a tool to propel and create discourse; outside of the forces that obstruct representation and autonomous freedom of the black body.

The work I produce teeters between performance and photography.  I use photography to document the performances and at times the performance is dependent on photography to be activated.