Last Friday I had the honor of spending some time with the brilliant (and extremely generous) @briannalhb who gave me a private tour of “Reclaiming Death: Art, Ritual, and Advocacy at End of Life, a group exhibition featuring Jeremy Dennis, Jenie Gao, Brianna L. Hernandez, Jonathan Herrera Soto, Resham Mantri, mk, Nirmal Raja, Denise Silva-Dennis, Adrienne Terry, and A young Yu in collaboration with Nicholas Oh. Each participating artist presents personal and culturally significant methods of relating to grief and death in ways that are healing and connected to heritage.” The exhibition challenges western ideas of death and mourning. In Brianna’s words, as the exhibition’s curator: “In a social atmosphere where death is primarily avoided or otherwise presented through platitudes and euphemisms, translating death from heritage and lived experiences is vital in honoring the vastness of end-of-life practices and our inextricably tied humanity.” Reclaiming death can be seen until November 30. Pls contact the venue to arrange a viewing. It’s at Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, a communal art space led by Indigenous artist Jeremy Dennis and based on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton. Here are a few images but one truly needs to be immersed in this important exhibit.
