Jorian Charlton in Artoronto.CA

June 5, 2022

Jorian Charlton, Kadine Lindsay: fi di gyal dem at CONTACT

By Bronwen Cox

“I remember being punished as a child for staring, for those hard intense direct looks children would give grown-ups, looks that were seen as confrontational, as gestures of resistance, challenges to authority… there is power in looking.” – bell hooks, Black Looks: Race and Representation

On the site page for Jorian Charlton’s and Kadine Lindsay’s collaborative exhibition, fi di gyal dem, reads this quote, bold and centered. In Charlton’s and Lindsay’s energetic and intimate portraits, their Black female figures stare powerfully at the viewer, forcing us to question who is looking and who is being looked at. Each woman, painted or photographed, meets our gaze with vigor and confidence, charisma and power; unlike the many depicted women and Black women of art history, they are certainly more subject than object, neither shying away from nor inviting our gaze, but reciprocating it with energy and unwavering self-assurance.

The majority of works in fi di gyal dem consists of intimate, alluring, and empowering portraits of Black women, sometimes the artists themselves, in interior settings photographed by Charlton. Then, these photographs are often embellished with surreal and stylized illustrated Black female figures painted by Lindsay. Besides photography, the exhibition consists of paintings, animation, and other mixed media works. The artists’ style, approach, and practice are heavily influenced by their shared Jamaican heritage.

Charlton’s and Lindsay’s work embodies a spirit of celebration, but also of defiance: their figures refuse to “lower their gaze, tone down their sexuality, or to become less vibrant or nurturing in a world that conditions them to be anything but”. Depicting a multitude of Black women, including themselves, these artists’ collaborative work conveys a powerful message of rebelliousness and refusal. The show’s online presentation situates Charlton’s and Lindsay’s work besides “user-generated meme content that embodies this spirit of refusal”, a nod to our current cultural climate, but also to the long history of Black women’s cultural production and Black cultural innovation.

In Under Me Sensei (2021), Lindsay poses for Charlton, reclining on a couch and smoking a joint in soft, bright sunlight. Beside the photographed Lindsay, two female figures are painted onto the photograph by Lindsay to appear as if sitting on the floor next to her, both smoking as well. These figures, stylized and dynamic, recall Bratz or anime characters with their glamourous appearances and huge cartoonish eyes. Each figure, painted or photographed, wears matching lingerie. The setting is a stylish room, with vibrant patterned rugs, an ornate standing ashtray, and bright red curtains from which sunlight emanates.

Charlton’s photography, reminiscent both of documentary and fashion photography, places Black women at its center. Glamourous shots, sharp compositions, unique angles, and bold subjects appear in her work. Charlton brings the interiority of her subjects to the forefront of her photographed world, empowering her subjects with the click of a shutter. Her addition of her depicted women’s names to the titles of her work emphasizes their role in the creative process, as subjects rather than simply objects in Charlton’s photography. In the online exhibition two images are often paired to highlight or juxtapose their message.

Charlton’s photograph Untitled (Sydné & Keverine) (2020) takes place in a similarly sunbathed interior setting and depicts two women with colourful hair and sunglasses. The two poses, holding each other close, as if looking at the camera over their shoulder.

[…]

To view the full review visit Artoronto.Ca

For more information about Jorian Charlton please contact the gallery:

info@coopercolegallery.com

+1.416.531.8000

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