Comprising figurative paintings and anthropomorphic ceramic vessels, Coming to Light uses contorted and mutated human forms to express the alienation and anxiety of our current moment. The exhibition embodies the dual consciousness of the public and private selves. Othello pulls from Carl Jung’s notion of the shadow self and the Yoruba concept of ejiwapo (twoness) in order to illuminate the fissures of contemporary personhood. The subjects of these paintings are bent over in frustrated grief. Stuck within domestic interiors of the shower and bedroom, they are forced to confront themselves. In each, Othello employs two complementary color schemes, contributing to the overall feeling of division between the personal sphere and the world at large. The show swims through the loneliness and uncertainty of quarantine, but also revels in the small sparks of beauty which come from confronting oneself. They are an urgent reflection on how it feels to be alive today.
from the exhibition text
Woody De Othello’s solo exhibition Coming to Light is on view at Nina Johnson in Miami through January 30, 2021.
