09/02/2024
401, Shannon Woodloe and Chet’la Sebree’s collaborative and multimedia exhibition, was born of intergenerational and intertextual conversations.
In "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family," lawyer and historian Annette Gordon-Reed wrote that “the portrayal of black female sexuality as inherently degraded is a product of slavery and white supremacy, and it lives on as one of slavery’s chief legacies and as one of white supremacy’s continuing projects.” Sebree grapples with Gordon-Reed’s claim in her poetry collection "Mistress," which investigates Black women’s experiences through the imagined voices of Sally Hemings and a contemporary speaker—demonstrating the long impact of enslavement four hundred years after English settlers brought the first Africans to the Colony of Virginia in 1619.
In 2020, Woodloe brought sixteen photographic scenes of "Mistress" to life, exploring Black women’s sexuality 401 years later. In 2024, Woodloe will revisit "Mistress," as well as new work by Sebree, to add to the 401 collection. The restaged show, titled 405, seeks to acknowledge the continuing project of both the exhibition and the legacy of enslavement.
405 will open on September 17, 2024, in celebration of the fourth convening of the Furious Flower Poetry Conference from September 18-21, at the 150 Franklin Street Gallery in Harrisonburg, VA—owned by Furious Flower Poetry Center founder Dr. Joanne Gabbin. The show will remain on view until October 31, 2024.
Programming in conversation with the show includes gallery talks by Shannon Woodloe, a poetry reading featuring Chet’la Sebree, DaMaris Hill, and Lauren Alleyne (Furious Flower Poetry Center Executive Director), art space meet-ups and more. For more information about the opening reception please follow https://www.sawphotog.com/13117054-405-opening
