blaxulted - the black lips series

tinuade oyelowo

a plus/space artist residency

For thirty days, artist Tinuade Oyelowo conducted a performative exercise: she wore a different type of lipstick color each day while working at a publicly front-facing job. The original aim of this exercise was to question performance constructs and to see with whom and how interactions would occur during this experiment. " Out of these conversations came a reality that myself as a black body could not be separated from the canvas. This brought up other ideas of Americana and symbolism. How it has managed to separate itself from the black body, which is an integral part of its history and existence," says Oyelowo.

At FiveMyles, the artist builds upon this work and continues to generate conversations around hyper-sexualized or suppressed visibility for black, female-identifying bodies, approaching these questions through an Afro-futurist theoretical lens. She will create a work-in-progress multimedia installation in the Plus/Space that the audience will be invited to see from behind the fence or through the doorway, without entering the space.

about the artist:

Tinuade Oyelowo is a multidisciplinary artist. She centers her work around social justice issues in and around race, gender, political oppression, environmental deterioration, and classism. She has obtained a B.F.A in Theatre with an emphasis in original works from Cornish College of the Arts. However, her work shifted after years of living in Chicago where she developed her love of performance and installation art. She then went on to obtain an M.F.A from Brooklyn College’s PIMA (Performance and Interactive and Media Arts) Graduate Program. She has shown her work at Trestle Gallery, Clemente Soto Vélez Gallery, 7 Dunham Gallery, Art@Renaissance Gallery, 3-Legged Dog Art's and Technology Center, and more.

Visit the artist’s website at tinuade.com

GALLERY HOURS:

Thursday - Sunday, 1 - 6pm, or by appointment. Please email hanne@fivemyles.org, or call 718-783-4438.

DIRECTIONS:

Take 2, 3, or 4 trains to Franklin Avenue. Walk two blocks against the traffic on Franklin. Walk ¾ block to 558 St. Johns Place. FiveMyles is within easy walking distance from the Brooklyn Museum.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

FiveMyles is in part supported by the New York State Council for the Arts, Public Funds from the New York City Dept. of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Council Member Laurie Cumbo, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, the Perlemeter Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Joseph Robert Foundation, and the William Talbott Hillman Foundation.