Gallery Response Essay KA

 

Autumn’s Fire/Breonna’s Forest (2020)

2nd Degree Burn (2020)

    One work that stood out to me from the BURN: Origins & Resistance exhibition was Dr. Antoinette Ellis-Williams’ Autumn’s Fire/Breonna’s Forest (2020). Accentuated by a bright gold frame, this abstract piece immediately caught my attention when I entered the gallery. The painting, made of acrylic and cold wax on a canvas, consists of bright, bold colors that overlay each other to create depth and add imagery. While it appears as though Ellis-Williams used the whole rainbow to create this piece, the most noticeable colors include vivid shades of red, orange, and yellow. A striking white and black are also prominent and contrast the rest of the piece. Muted shades of green, blue, lavender, pink, and yellow also reveal themselves the longer you study the painting. Upon closer inspection, parts of the top layers of wax can be seen rising from the surface of the canvas instead of laying completely flat. 

    Interpretations of Autumn’s Fire/Breonna’s Forest (2020) can be drawn from its title. The part of the title alluding to the setting of an area of woods during the autumn season helps the viewer visually grasp the scenery depicted in the piece. There are dark outlines of trees scattered throughout the landscape and in the background that stretches far back, with a short dip outlined in black leading to a small lake or river within the wooded area in the foreground. The title indicates there is a “fire” taking place in the forest, which can be seen in the brighter colors mentioned before, especially the red. The fire appears to be consuming the entirety of the landscape and eating away at the natural elements that are present. This interpretation may signify the negative effects of global warming and climate change, especially on women of color. Women of color may be more vulnerable to the consequences of global warming in part due to obstacles that stem from the race and gender inequalities they face, from their places within communities to how they are disproportionately impacted by poverty and violence. An additional interpretation of the meaning of Ellis-Williams’ Autumn’s Fire/Breonna’s Forest can be derived from another part of the title. Although not explicitly stated, the name “Breonna” may be related to Breonna Taylor, a young woman who was fatally shot in her apartment March 13, 2020. The tragic circumstances surrounding her unfortunate death may be mirrored in the disaster of the fire ripping through the forest depicted in the piece. 

    The dual meanings of this abstract work both connect to themes of struggle, injustice, and social justice, as well as the concept of “Burn” the exhibition centers around. The piece can be labeled as activist art because it represents and raises awareness about relevant issues tied to race, gender, the environment, and more. It casts light on current struggles that are interconnected when those experiencing them may not have a platform to do so, all while actively changing audiences’ perceptions. This function is similar to Kimberly Drew’s Black Contemporary Art blog, as she describes in This Is What I Know About Art, “It was developed as a space for collective healing and mourning–for anyone who needed to experience art that attempted to offer sense in this tumultuous time. In that moment, I began to understand how intimately art and activism could work together to produce a collective voice and shared community,” (50). Similar to Ellis-Williams’ statement about Black women celebrating beauty “with vibrant colors, elaborate hairstyles, and unique cultural flair,” before unfamiliar, malicious ideals “slithered into their garden,” the viewers’ interpretation of the vibrant and inviting colors of this piece changes as they begin to understand the greater meaning of the work. The colors are then distorted into a harsh and all-consuming force that shapes a once serene environment into one that is chaotic and destructive. 

    Another work that stood out to me from the BURN: Origins & Resistance exhibition was 2nd Degree Burn (2020). This mixed media piece is made of various materials, such as paint, red crystal-like stones, and unconventional items like leaves. In the gallery, I was drawn to this work by the interesting shapes formed by the stones sticking out from the canvas. The color red is primarily used in the piece, along with an orangey-brown and gray, and hints of blue and green. On a literal level, 2nd Degree Burn can be seen as a burn Ellis-Williams once received and recreated through art. This burn can be interpreted to represent her personal experiences with pain and the pain inflicted upon the communities she is a part of as a Black woman living in the United States. As Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham said in an article, “In the history of African-Americans, the story of struggle has been a constant one,” (Background on Black Lives Matter, 3). Tying into the greater theme of how Black women experience “Burn” as defined by the exhibition, the suffering shown as a result of the burn in this piece reflects deeper racial and historical issues Black women come face-to-face with in their daily lives. Like a physical burn, the impacts of “Burn” are noticeable, take time to heal, and leave long-term scarring that serves as a constant reminder of past events. This piece serves as activist art because it explores deep-rooted issues and encourages its audience to think deeply about how these issues impact the experiences of Black women both on a personal and large-scale level in relation to the big, infected burn that is depicted.

"Selfie" inspired by the exhibition.
I used a silhouette of myself and photos of a chain link fence in the backyard of my childhood home, similar to the imagery used in many of the pieces in BURN: Origins & Resistance.