6 Degrees of Separate Nations

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SIX DEGREES SEPARATE OF

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Ebony G. Patterson and Peterson Kamwathi

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Ebony G. Patterson Six Degrees Celcius or Farenheit?

“It is the West that studies the ethnography of the other, not the others who study the ethnography of the West.” – Aimé Césaire

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Today, the definition of “other” is no longer only prescribed by the West, and one’s proximity to “other” is no longer simply defined by the West’s neo-colonial distance to its peripheries. In post-Postcolonial times, “other” is a complex space comprised of redefinitions (self) defined by many of the regions that have historically constituted the generalized “periphery.” As such, the notion of West as center has been destabilized and the idea of the West is being progressively reconstituted. Entering into this complex acclimatization, Six Degrees of Separate Nations aims at a self-investigatory exploration of two contemporary creative identities that propose redefinitions of conventions of culture, social engagement and place. These two explorations occur in tandem, providing points of comparison from which to agree, defer or beg to differ…

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Peterson Kamwathi lives and works in Nairobi, Kenya. Ebony G. Patterson lives in her hometown Kingston, Jamaica, and works in Kentucky, USA. Beyond living in countries that have historically been impacted by colonial powers, Kamwathi and Ebony share in common a rootedness to place revealed through the need to explore identities-in-flux within their generation, that have absorbed, ignored and reinterpreted colonial influences to renewed outcome. However, the manner in which their respective social groupings, under their magnifying glasses, absorb, reject and reconstitute influence is what, amongst other things, makes their work vastly different. Ebony G. Patterson’s work Brella Krew, 2013, is a monumental tapestry that is both vibrant and inescapable, harkening on the subcultures of Kingston’s dancehall happenings. Her ‘characters’ are fashionable and assertively expressive. In contrast, Peterson Kamwathi’s thick charcoal rendering, Mask II, 2013, is brooding, absorbing and interrogative of the behavior of masquerade and social performance affiliated with Kenya’s political “scene.”

Initially, bringing these artists together was a naive attempt at pseudo-artistic matchmaking. However, I soon realized a situation of Big Brother would simply echo overgeneralized

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Peterson Kamwathi

readings of historically-colonized spaces. The title of the exhibition has also become a colloquialism that echoes both the sentiment of tangential commonality, and the occasion for Ebony and Kamwathi to explore their own proximity to each other—the new “other”—en situ.

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The conversations instigated by these artists’ work are thus the driving force to the exhibition, directing its themes. These dynamic conversations move audiences from the conventional role of static observers of an already complete process, to active participants invited to engage in a fluid narrative that offers viewers an opportunity to situate themselves within the genres of identity these artists actively explore.

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It is congruent then that a significant theme underlying both artists’ work—and thus the exhibition—is the examination of social behavior, specifically that of performance and theatricality. Ebony’s documentation, staging and appropriation of contemporary fashion, its insignia and pattern, explore the implicit link of dress code to social and political expression. Peterson Kamwathi depicts theatrical social performance without appropriating its modes; rather taking on the role of an observer, he extracts modes of behavior, staging scenarios that express the farcical nature of masquerade inherent to social conventions and imposed political ‘norms’—norms that are both inherited from colonial rule, and re-appropriated.

Whether Kamwathi and Ebony decide to collaborate or simply co-exist is a secondary concern to the exhibition’s primary aim of giving time and space to an exchange of two admirable perspectives in order to make a humble contribution to the understanding of identity politics in regions of the world that can still afford to be heard. Six Degrees of Separate Nations aims to remain a fluid and evolving conversation.

My deepest gratitude goes to Peterson Kamwathi; Ebony G. Patterson; Carol Damian and her wonderful team at the Frost Art Museum; Kathryn and Dan Mikesell; Monique Meloche Gallery; Hilger Gallery; Cricket Taplin, Christopher Crozier; Patricia Saunders.

Claire Breukel, Curator

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Exhibition Checklist: Peterson Kamwathi Monument to a Vessel, 2012-2013 Charcoal, pastel, paper, wall installation Dimensions variable Courtesy of the Artist Peterson Kamwathi Mask I, 2013 Charcoal, pastel, paper, 45 ¼ x 48 inches Courtesy of the Artist Peterson Kamwathi Mask II, 2013 Charcoal, pastel, paper, 45 ¼ x 48 inches Courtesy of the Artist

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Peterson Kamwathi Mask III, 2013 Charcoal, pastel, paper, 45 ¼ x 48 inches Courtesy of the Artist

Peterson Kamwathi Mask IV, 2013 Charcoal, pastel, paper, 45 ¼ x 48 inches Courtesy of the Artist Ebony G. Patterson Bad Pickney from the Fambily series, 2013 Mixed media hand embellished Jacquard tapestry with 56 fabric balloons 160 x 112 inches Courtesy of the Artist and Monique Meloche Gallery Ebony G. Patterson Brella Krew from the Fambily series, 2013 Mixed media hand embellished Jacquard tapestry 285 x 78 inches Courtesy of the Artist and Monique Meloche Gallery

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The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum 10975 SW 17th St. | Miami, FL 33199 t: 305.348.2890 | e: artinfo@fiu.edu | w: thefrost.fiu.edu This exhibition is part of our 2013 series Commemorating 500 Years: Spain, Florida and the Caribbean

Please drink responsibly

The Frost Art Museum receives ongoing support from the Steven and Dorothea Green Endowment; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners; The Miami Herald; Target; and the Members & Friends of The Frost Art Museum.

Special thanks to: Consulate General of Jamaica

Front: Ebony G. Patterson, Brella Krew from the Fambily series (detail), 2013 Peterson Kamwathi, Mask I, 2013 Inside: Ebony G. Patterson, Brella Krew from the Fambily series (detail), 2013 Peterson Kamwathi, Monument to a Vessel, 2012-2013

Ebony G. Patterson Entourage from the Fambily series, 2010 Edition 1 of 3 + 2 Artist Proofs Digital print on nylon with metal grommets 96 x 120 inches Courtesy of the Artist and Monique Meloche Gallery Ebony G. Patterson Swag Swag Krew from the Out and Bad series, 2011-13 Mixed media installation with 10 mannequins, clothing, cinder blocks, flowers, hand embellished objects on plinth Installation dimensions variable Courtesy of the Artist and Monique Meloche Gallery