Jeffrey Gibson’s The Animal That Therefore I Am at The Met in New York
I just returned home to Los Angeles after spending a week in New York City. It was my first visit to the city, and it turned out to be one of the most magical, overwhelming, synchronous, and inspiring trips I have ever taken!
I returned feeling deeply inspired and moved by the city's rich creativity and history, as well as the vibrant networks of artists, researchers, witches, and visionaries who are truly changing the world. I had the honor of seeing the queer Indigenous artist Jeffrey Gibson’s stunning installation, The Animal That Therefore I Am, outside The Met (as shown in the photo above).
This work highlights our interconnectedness with animals, plants, and our ancestral ties, and it is Jeffrey’s first public art commission of this scale.
Other highlights include:
Seeing Grace Rosario Perkins’ solo exhibition Circles, Spokes, Zigzags, Rivers at The Whitney.
Catching Coco Fusco’s retrospective at El Museo del Barrio in Harlem.
Visiting the Met was deeply moving and filled with intense energy. Seeing artwork from around the world, including solo exhibitions by Lorna Simpson and Man Ray, a stunning show on Black Style, and so much more.
Visiting the Guggenheim museum which was filled with 90 artworks by artwork by the artist Rashid Johnson and also had a solo exhibition by Robert Rauschenberg.
Feeling so cared for and touched by Vaginal Davis’ major exhibition at MOMA PS1.
But one of the biggest highlights of the entire trip was forming bonds with friends I had only interacted with virtually before, as well as reconnecting with old friends. It made me feel like New York is another city I can keep coming back to.
The main reason I traveled to New York was to attend and participate in the Occult Humanities Conference, held at New York University’s (NYU) art department, which featured fascinating talks and panels.
I was invited to be on a panel titled MAGIC MAKER: ARTIST AS MAGICIAN with conference co-organizer Jesse Bransford and Hilma’s Ghost, a feminist artist collective founded by artists Sharmistha Ray and Dannielle Tegeder.
The panel was moderated by the iconic author and witch Pam Grossman, who is also a co-organizer of the conference. She took a photo of me (below) while I shared my artist talk.
Many thanks to the incredible artist Opal Starlight of Magic Spell Studio for creating this gorgeous, rainbow and purple magic-inspired outfit for me.
Overall, I have returned back home to Los Angeles (on the new moon!) from New York feeling incredibly inspired to create, to innovate, to try out new mediums and practices, and to continue adding to the cultural milieu of our beloved city. I am also so inspired to travel more!
Speaking of traveling, I am hoping to return to CDMX next year for art week aka Semana de Arte and yearn to deepen my connections in both Mexico and Latin America. I might be visiting the UK and EU next year for emerging projects. I am also planting seeds to visit Tokyo for the first time ever in the near future and would love to visit Asia and Africa as well.
I believe deeply in our sacred web. In its power and in its ability to produce miracles.
My art is ready to cross oceans, open portals in new cities, and spark connection globally.
If you feel called to be part of that expansion, say hello.
There is so much magic we can create together.