Cover image: Works by Noel W. Anderson (left) and Kim Dacres (right)
© Entrée to Black Paris

Zidoun-Bossuyt's Paris gallery is currently showcasing the works of multiple artists in an exhibition entitled Perspective. The gallery's intent is to encourage visitors to reflect on the nature of today's society by engaging with the artists' visual expressions of a wide range of themes, including selfhood, culture, historical narratives, and environmental issues.

I had the opportunity to participate in a private viewing of the works on display and was particularly taken by the pieces created by Eddy Kamuanga, Noel W. Anderson, and Kim Dacres.

Eddy Kamuanga presented his first solo exhibition at Zidoun-Bossuyt Luxembourg in 2023.  His paintings highlight the impact of globalization on African societies, blending traditional motifs with contemporary elements.

L’esthétique du chaos 3, 2023
Acrylic and oil on canvas
198 x 200 cm (78 x 78 3/4 in)

Specifically, Kamuanga incorporates motifs of printed circuit boards into traditional scenes representative of his homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

His L’esthétique du chaos 3 (2023) is the focal point for all visitors entering the gallery.  It is hung in the center at the rear of the exhibition space.

Noel W. Anderson explores the complexities of African-American identity through a blend of traditional and innovative techniques  His works intertwine his fascination with mediated images, woven tapestries, and soundscapes.

Each tapestry begins with a found image, which he digitally manipulates through mirroring, inverting, cropping, or other distortions before reproducing it on a digital jacquard loom.

His work entitled Black Exhaustion: But Where? dominates the wall on the left side of the front room of the exhibition.

Black Exhaustion: But Where?, 2022-2023
Picked and distressed cotton tapestry
266.7 x 396.2 cm (105 x 156 in)

Kim Dacres is a visual artist who uses found tires and rubber to create sculptures celebrating influential forces in her life such as family, community, musicians, athletes, and ideas. She collects and disassembles tires, layering them around wooden armatures using screws and treating them with spray paint.

Des, 2023
Recycled tires, braided bicycle inner tubes, zip ties, wood, screws, and spray paint
Sculpture: 66 x 29.2 x 35.6 cm (26 x 11 1/2 x 14 in) 36lbs - 16,3kg
Circle Plinth, Stained wood: 107.3 x 38.1 x 38.1 cm (42 1/4 x 15 x 15 in) 33lbs - 15kg

Dacres constructs facial expressions and hair styles for her pieces to give them charisma and celebrate their Blackness.  Through her work, she invites viewers to consider who is entitled to space and deserving of commemoration. 

She uses discarded rubber because of its color and odor and also because she views it as a symbolic representation of experience paired with wear and tear leading to discard. Through the process of layering, the rubber is transformed into muscle, bone, skin, hair, and personal style.

One of Dacres’ busts – Des (2023) – is on display on the first floor of the exhibition.  It addresses how braids and other hair styles impact how Black women and girls are viewed in the spaces they occupy.

Perspective will be open through April 5, 2025.