As we're all aware, Mississippi is often viewed as a desolate place lacking of culture, art and influence within American Culture. Right Here In Mississippi is a telling of the marvelous things going in Mississippi in the spaces of Art and Culture.
Early morning on March 13th, a small community gallery nestled in Midtown Jackson were preparing to install a historical piece that had only been on display publicly twice before them. Once, in New York and next on a Greek island, Hydra.
AND Gallery is an independent, artist-run space for contemporary and emerging art. They're interested in the accessibility of new and emerging art, facilitating creative experimentation + discussion and supporting emerging artists & disciplines.
Owners of AND Gallery and Volunteers on installation day
FIGA, a room-sized fist made from polystyrene and covered in sugar is a segment from Kara Walker's larger piece, A Subtlety, or The Marvelous Sugar Baby. In 2014 Walker created a gigantic sphinx sculpture made of sugar inside the Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, New York, as a tribute to its workers, its 120-year history and with a reference to the long strike that took place there in 2000.
After viewing, A Subtlety, or The Marvelous Sugar Baby was demolished and FIGA is all that remains from the 75-foot-long, 35-foot-high Sphinx. The left hand holds a “fig sign”, both a symbol of fertility and a “fuck you”.
FIGA will be on display at AND Gallery located at 133 Millsaps Avenue, Jackson, Mississippi for the remainder of September, Friday-Sundays for FREE. Schedule your viewing here. Be sure to support AND Gallery by sharing this exhibition with your friends, donating money and visiting! Follow them on social media (@andgalleryjxn), they have some very cool content on the way that includes local artists. Be on the lookout!
What are some cool things going on in Mississippi we should know about? Let us know! Message us on social media, email us at hello@sipptalk.com or use the hashtags #SippTalk #RightHereInMississippi
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