Heard Animals: Amina Ross and Kevin Stuart
With Precious Okoyomon "Come Into my Bedroom?" in the Milwaukee Ave. Window Gallery
Amina Ross has been leading a series of meditations and performances as a part of a growing body of work entitled Black Beauty. Named after the 1877 novel by Anna Sewell, Black Beauty creates connections between non human animal expressions of aggression/resistance/resilience and black embodiment. Through the use of movement, personal historical narratives, video, meditation and sound, Black Beauty asserts that black folks and non-human animals are not merely connected through a shared plight but through a shared power, resilience and beauty that may be found in a great relinquishing.
Kevin Stuart really tries to further and further limit his intentionality while approaching a subject, rendering those that populate his canvases as both familiar and strange. However, in the studio, over time, he can’t help but project his own experiences on his subjects– an empathy develops, they become extremely personal, regardless of his relationship to them, whether friends or strangers. He likes the idea that his subjects can be anyone and how that’s both terrifying and comforting at once.
Amina Ross is an undisciplined artist engaged in the reevaluation of visual and written language. As of late Amina’s interests have led to an exploration of conceptions of “Body” and “Beauty” within communities dedicated to alternative modes of healing.
Kevin Stuart was born in Blue Island, Illinois. He lives and works in Chicago and partially runs a carl.