“Do and Be” Installation view at Perrotin Seoul ©PerrotinPerrotin Seoul presents Do and Be, the first solo exhibition in Asia by Tavares Strachan (b. 1979). Tavares Strachan’s work is based on his interest in marginalized histories, such as the first Black astronaut, Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. (1935–1967), Black polar explorer Matthew Henson (1866–1955), and the Jamaican activist and entrepreneur Marcus Garvey (1887–1940). He is particularly interested in the idea of “textual manipulability,” creating works that reconfigure the connections between image, text, and context.
This aspect of his practice is reflected in the ‘Self Portrait’ series in this exhibition. In < Self Portrait as Galaxies Together > (2023), a circular canvas depicting the universe is perforated with circle-shaped holes that resemble the planets of the cosmos. These holes are interspersed with other texts and images of naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882), jazz musician Miles Davis (1926–1991), and Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430), which appear to be cut into the shape of a circle. This reflects the artist’s methodology of reforming and representing a specific person, entity, or phenomenon. The ceramic works are an extension of the self-portraits, with a sculpture of Strachan’s face in a space helmet replacing the lid of a jar, or Strachan’s head in the mouth of a roaring animal.
The exhibition presents a comprehensive look at Strachan’s work centered on self-portraits.
