COLLAGE ON VIEW
Shawn Theodore: A Race of Angels
at Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
4-25 October 2024
“A Race of Angels” presents the mixed media artwork of conceptual photographer Shawn Theodore. Through his “Afromythology”™ series, Theodore crafts a narrative that invites fresh perspectives on the divine connections within the family, their ancestors, and the cherished images they leave behind.
In “A Race of Angels”, Theodore delves into the specific experiences of African American families, capturing a longing for lost photographs, missing heirlooms, and vanished archives. Using a blend of traditional portraiture, found photographs, paint, paper, pencils, and digital manipulation, Theodore creates archetypes representing hypothetical family members, spiritual guardians, and ancestors. These boldly crafted archetypes inhabit an imagined macro-family album, offering a unique perspective on portraiture, connection, and community. Theodore’s work aims to deepen spiritual connections and encourage personal introspection.
Theodore’s process begins with examining vintage portraits from the 1940s to the early 1970s, coinciding with the Great Migration. These photos capture the crucial moments in time that preserved people, places, and objects as cultural artifacts and vessels of nostalgic elements ubiquitous within Black America. Concurrently in history, Black people were increasingly taking control of their narratives, decolonizing the lens behind the camera to craft a collective identity during the post-Jim Crow era.
Using collages, both traditional and digital, Theodore crafts layers and intersections of imagined familial ties, traditions, friendships, secrets, and rituals that bind them, something akin to the stories of long-lost relatives one might encounter in faded, blurry photographs. For Theodore, photography is a fleeting moment, while collage allows for a deeper, more introspective exploration. By integrating collage into his practice, Theodore takes ownership of the narrative, imbuing his work with personal resonance. Theodore abstracts his portraits, layering them with paper, colored pencils, and meticulous hand embellishments. This technique transforms his subjects into textured, almost celestial beings, evoking a sense of otherworldly presence.
(text adapted from material provide by the gallery)
INFORMATION
Paradigm Gallery
12 North 3rd Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 USA
(267) 266-0073
Hours:
Thursday-Friday, 10AM-6PM
Saturday, 11AM-6PM
Sunday, 11AM-5PM