INWARD AT ICP
Interiority at the Focal Point.
Within the safe confines of our private and intimate spaces, creativity abounds and outward expectations softly subside. In a captivating exploration of the complexity and beauty of interiority, the photography exhibition INWARD features the work of five emerging Black artists standing on the vanguard of the photographic forefront. Currently on view at the International Center of Photography (ICP), the work traverses into the innermost areas of the photographers’ lives, probing into the quintessentially quiet, yet weighty, moments of the past two years.
“The five artists featured in INWARD provide a thought-provoking window into their interior lives,” comments Isolde Brielmaier, the curator of the exhibition. “The revealing new photographs explore intimate thoughts and personal relationships with great honesty, as the artists delve deep into the new reality and challenges of our contemporary lives at a time of global introspection.”
The artists — Djeneba Aduayom, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Quil Lemons, Brad Ogbonna, and Isaac West — have created imagery that has graced the covers and pages of publications such as the New York Times, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Forbes. While each artist has experience utilizing a range of photographic instruments, all works presented in INWARD are captured by iPhone. The exhibition stands as a testament to raw photographic aptitude, proving that the method of capture is irrelevant in the face of talent, instinct, and deep-seated effort.
Each photographer possesses a unique and alluring angle, focusing on a plethora of varying aspects, such as sexuality, movement, mental health, and racial identity. Within the tumultuous timeframe of 2020 — a summer of protests and calls to action in the face of adversity, the restructuring of the political system in the U.S., and the ongoing battle of the COVID-19 pandemic — these five photographers embarked on a continuation of creative creation. Via INWARD, Black beauty is highlighted and elevated, interior expanses are celebrated, and the significance of both self and others comes to the focal point.
The exhibition is on view until January 10, 2022. For more information, you can visit here.
