Inaction addresses the potential for change through collective action. The installation comprises two main components: a newly commissioned series of nine sculptural works and the two channel video projection Free Fall: for Camera.
Working in collaboration with the architecture and design firm Norman Kelley, Fernandes has designed a set of mobile dance supports and platforms for activation by local dancers. The mats, rug, tumblers, and square grid evoke communal spaces of training and play such as gymnasiums and playgrounds. In public performances throughout the exhibition, Fernandes’ choreography guides dancers to utilize the sculpture objects in movements, referencing a mix of childhood play and professional dance warm-up exercise. Performances are scheduled for March/April. Visit our website for details.
Paired with the installation is the two channel video work Free Fall: for Camera. Evolved from a live performance piece Free Fall (2017), this new work is in response to the mass shooting of predominantly racialized LGBTQ2S patrons at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016. Free Fall: for Camera explores the act of falling. Featuring sixteen dancers, the work demonstrates the cataclysmic moments when bodies fall onto a stage. Intimate shots are intercut with stunning aerial views, creating kaleidoscopic imagery reminiscent of film director Busby Berkeley’s visionary style.
The social upheavals of 2020 such as the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have catalyzed a global conversation around human rights and equality. Inaction reflects on this current moment, how our bodies are affected by systemic violence, and the potential for positive change through gathering, protest, and physical collectivity.
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, andcurrently based in Chicago, Fernandes is an internationally recognized artist working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. He is currently an artist-in-residence and a member of faculty in the Department of Art, Theory and Practice at Northwestern University. Fernandes addresses issues of freedom, sanctuary and social solidarity in his work, which has been shown at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, MOMA, the Getty Museum in LA., the National Gallery of Canada, the 2019 Whitney Biennial and many more. Fernandes is working on a new piece commissioned by the Richmond Art Gallery at Capture Photography Festival in April 2021.