Shape-shifting

First there is movement: shedding skin, rupturing, altering form—perhaps escaping form entirely. Shape-shifting is mythical, often seen in picture books and fairytales, but it is also a queering that responds directly to our environment and experiences. It involves code-switching and adapting to a world that is not built for particular bodies, which asks us to continuously take new shapes and explore different avenues as a method of survival.

The artists in this exhibition interrogate the past, upholding their lineages by turning material scarcity into abundance. Cultural preservation is a transformative act—whether it is meditating on the quiet intimacy of an object, continuing traditional practices through contemporary mediums, or weaving lost tapestries into an imaginative interpretation of what could have been. Shape-shifting looks beyond the binary framework of reaction and resistance and asks us what it means to move beyond our current state and enter a new one; to gather our resources, repair, and rebuild.