Group Show · Emergence: Mojave Artists of Color Collective

Sept. 9, 2023 - Nov. 5, 2023 

 

 

Compound presents Emergence: Mojave Artists of Color Collective (MACC), the first-ever public exhibition of works by MACC artists as a collective. 

Sakura Sky Kelly creates an intimate room for visitors to engage with handmade books that depict personal stories of loss. As a child of immigrants, Mansi Shah invites us to explore liminal spaces created by colliding cultures by reimagining objects for pleasure, safety, play, and joy. Yvonne Buchanan’s prints distort studio spaces the artist could only imagine during a time when her actual space was limited and threatened. Lisa G. French’s photographs invite us to balance California’s past, present, and future while also contemplating personal transformation. Elena Yu’s bulletin board collages use local massage parlor ads to parodically cast herself in the role of “stereotypical Asian woman,” asking herself and the viewer, “Are there Asian spaces in the desert?”

Alex Maceda’s time in the desert has been an extended meditation on space, sense of place, and belonging (or lack thereof), and her paintings dream up possibilities of healing, safety, and self-discovery. Douglas Blanc presents Yoruban gods as mini LEGO figures on hand drawn trading cards, using the language of a toy to create mythologies and heroes that reflect his community. Josie Kim Parker’s sculpture of a Guardian protects the space while exploring familial intergenerational trauma and dynamics. Through taste, touch and performance, Tania “T” Hammidi invites us to learn about the history of dates, big in California agriculture and also as staples of SWANA (South West Asian, North African) communities and identities. Miri Hunter’s paintings of female goddesses and abstractions on femininity echo in an original performance. Stacey Villalobos’ performance channels spiritual ancestral practices through herbalism and song.

Borrowing inspiration from bell hooks, Emergence seeks to “[identify] the spaces where we begin the process of revision.” In these spaces, the artists invite us into explorations of identity and history as shaped by objects in their surrounding worlds, as they, in turn, shape the emergence of new paths.

Co-curated by Elena Yu (MACC) and Caroline Partamian (C.YV)

Group Show featuring members of the Mojave Artists of Color Collective (MACC):

Douglas Blanc
Yvonne Buchanan
Lisa G. French
Tania “T” Hammidi
Miri Hunter
Sakura Sky Kelley
Alex Maceda
Josie Kim Parker
Mansi Shah
B Stacey Villalobos
Elena Yu 

Opening reception:
Sept. 9, 2023
6–10 pm
6–7 Masked hour

Performances by Tania “T” Hammidi 6:15-6:25, B Stacey Villalobos 6:40-7:00, Miri Hunter 7:15-8:00

Compound YV is located at 55379 29 Palms Highway, Yucca Valley, CA, 92284. Our parking lot has one accessible parking space nearest to an entrance that is 34.5" wide.