Aaron Turner

I engage in abstraction as a tool to shift questions of identity within a traditional, often monolithic historical narrative. This body of work titled Black Alchemy approaches the issues of identity, racial passing, abstraction, the historical archive, and the studio, while also thinking about ideas of the black artist as subject and blackness as material.

In an article titled 'Why it's not enough to say black is beautiful' by Frank Bowling (1971) stated the traditional aesthetic of black art is often considered pragmatic, uncluttered and direct, hinging on secrecy and disguise. This is a statement that resonates with me personally and how I engage with representation in art through photography. In my work I use abstraction, to consider the following ideas, thoughts or questions:

  • To shift the analysis away from or toward the black artist as subject.

  • Emphasize blackness as material, insisting on blackness as a multiplicity.

  • What the color black/black art does in the world without conflating it.

  • Consider those who understand blackness from within a system that deems them black, which are black people or black artists.

  • Consider/understand that Art History and American history were established with a singular historical narrative or monolithic subjectivity.

For more information about the artist, please visit his website.