MCCLODDEN, Tiona Nekkia
MASK / CONCEAL / CARRY

Known for her sharp examinations of biomythography and intersubjectivity, McClodden uses a research-based approach in her practice as an artist and self-described “historian and cultural custodian.” MASK / CONCEAL / CARRY dissects the many meanings of these three words. McClodden creates films, paintings, and sculptures from her own firearms and calibers, and referencing cultural and historical objects including Benin Bronzes and BDSM gimp masks. This exhibition pivots around the concept of “training to failure.” It holds that, in order to achieve gains or to succeed—a success measured by and set in accordance with someone else’s standard—you must strenuously lift something that is inherently too great a load to bear. McClodden communicates a core awareness of the body as it corresponds to the fragile boundaries of the psyche. Through custom lighting, the artist carefully choreographs a performance between the work, the gallery space, and the viewer.

Curator’s Note by Ebony L. Haynes. Artist’s statement by Tiona Nekkia McClodden. Conversation between Tiona Nekkia McClodden and Simone White. Poem by Rhea Dillon.

[publisher's note]

Published by David Zwirner Books, 2023
Monographs