The Litany

Locust Projects is proud to present The Litany, a new site-specific installation by the Chicago-based artist Bethany Collins. In the center of Locust Projects’ Main Gallery is My Destiny is in Your Hands, a white-on-white flocked wallpaper installation designed by the artist that exists within a “chapel” custom-built for the exhibition. The floral designs on the wallpaper represent official state flowers from the historical South where the artist’s family are from, as well as the state flowers where the artist’s family moved to during the Great Migration of millions of African Americans from the South to other parts of the United States. In the center of Locust Projects’ main gallery is My Destiny is in Your Hands, a 20 x 15 ft room-within-the-room, the interior of which is covered with white embossed wallpaper on which Collins makes use of the official state flowers of the American South to memorialize moments of repeated violence throughout American history. Collins uses floriography, or the language of flowers, which enjoyed a resurgence in 19th century Victorian-era England. Flower meanings and tussie mussies, also known as “talking bouquets,” allowed for the sharing of covert messages otherwise difficult to speak aloud. Between 1827 and 1923, there were at least 98 different flower dictionaries in circulation in the U.S. alone. The language of flowers is also found in state symbols—from flags and anthems to poems and official seals— acting as visual representations of a government, a people, their history, and shared values. According to flower dictionaries published in the 19th century, Delaware’s official state flower, the peach blossom conveys the message “I am your captive.” While Louisiana’s iris means “I burn for you.” And Alabama’s camelia translates to “My destiny is in your hands.” In the center of My Destiny is in Your Hands, is a copy of America: A Hymnal, an artist book by Collins from 2017. The hardcover-bound book consists of 100 versions of the song My Country ‘Tis of Thee. Since the original version’s debut by the Rev. Samuel F. Smith on July 4, 1831, the lyrics of My Country ’Tis of Thee have been re-titled and re-written at least one hundred times between the 18th and 20th centuries. Each re-writing—usually done in support of a passionately held cause, from temperance and suffrage to abolition and even the Confederacy—articulates some version of what it means to be American. Like the meanings of state flowers, these patriotic hymns are sometimes love letters, sometimes indictments, or both. This exhibition has received support from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant. Bethany Collins is a multidisciplinary artist whose conceptually driven work is fueled by a critical exploration of how race and language interact. In her Contronym series, for instance, Collins transposes definitions from Webster’s New World Dictionary of American Language onto American Masters paper, then aggressively obscures much of the entries with an eraser. What remain are specific snippets of meaning that are poetically charged through their isolation, as well as the crumbled paper bits left behind by her erasing. As Holland Cotter noted writing in The New York Times, “language itself, viewed as intrinsically racialized, is Bethany Collins’ primary material.” Her works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions nationwide, including the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Drawing Center, the Wexner Center for the Arts, and the Birmingham Museum of Art. Collins has been recognized as an Artist-in-Residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the MacDowell Colony, the Bemis Center and the Hyde Park Art Center among others. In 2015, she was awarded the Hudgens Prize.

Visit

3852 N Miami Ave

Miami, NY