Exhibition Review: Caitlin Cherry’s Crichoues Indignation
Righteous indignation. It’s a sense of anger that booms from an act of injustice. This is the emotion Kanye West, rapper and self-described genius, meant to tweet about on July 20, 2020. Instead, in the screenshot of a Google search attached to a tweet about his wife, he looked up the misspelled phrase, “crichoues indignation.” Artist Caitlin Cherry’s Crichoues Indignation exhibition at The Hole skillfully nods at Mr. West’s mistake to discuss the injustice Black women have experienced through the effects of social media. The psychedelic colors and stacked imagery tell the story of Black women artfully displaying their sexuality to successfully amass an Instagram following. The deeper indignation that accompanies this art is that Black women have not been credited with the brand they have cultivated on digital platforms, with many of their physical features and styles mimicked by non-Black Instagram influencers, such as Kim Kardashian. The aggravating societal component is that outside of social media, these features and aesthetics common in the Black community are devalued and seen as unprofessional by white America. Cherry’s vivid presentation and intricate artistic process add layers to the exhibition’s meaningful message and my understanding of it. The insight revealed from these elements tell us why Caitlin Cherry is resonating in the revolutionary year of 2020.
The placement of the canvases in Crichoues Indignation manifests in two formats. Large paintings adorn walls and corners throughout the exhibition, allowing viewers the chance to be entranced by Cherry’s world while they walk through it. The second way Cherry placed her canvases in this exhibition is in a metallic box with drawer handles, which viewers can pull on to have the works slide out horizontally. This action mirrors the feeling of scrolling through an Instagram feed, with one image following another. One of these drawers requires a code to be entered, further incorporating a sense that the images remain exclusive to those with the social and financial means to access them. One piece, entitled $25,000, is uniquely braced on the wall, angled towards viewers, creating a sense that one is looking down at the images on their phone screen. Cherry embraces the way that the bodies of Black women are valued based on their ability to produce content for consumption on these platforms, but are otherwise disregarded in other industries, such as corporate spaces or representation in movies. This is seen through her inclusion of the metallic box, as a sort of art storage, which are often used by people whose homes are so saturated with collectibles that they cannot display everything they own. Cherry’s use of such a unique structure contributes to the sense that images of Black women in media are taken for granted, only brought out opportunistically for examination and then returned to an abyss when the interest fades.
Cherry’s choices for the images that comprise this exhibition immerse the audience in her creative process. Her subjects stem from social media. She alters the found images to further highlight the attention-getting aspects of the women’s appearances, not shying away from empowerment through sexuality. Cherry includes the brands they wear, their jewelry, makeup choices, and poses that have all been made more popular through these influential women’s decisions to use them. The multiple women on one canvas depict a united force and the layers of color and pattern place a dimension between viewers and the women, making it clear that while they are physically revealing much of themselves, they ultimately remain in control of their own identities. In the corner of each canvas resides an image of a man, those who predominantly represent the audience the women have on social media, making it palpable that they are dominating those they target. In Ransom-aware Leviathan, the women’s expressions appear as if they have considered every detail of their countenances and are fully “aware” of the power they hold through the internet.
Cherry intends to reclaim the images of Black women that are public on social media. Her stance is that the men in the corners of the canvases have taken for granted the autonomy and control required for the women to work in the industries in which they use their bodies to achieve success. She also wishes to share appreciation for the Black women who were often not credited for creating trends or paving the way for this work to be possible. To reclaim something through these images is to reference the way that the parts of Black culture that are deemed as desirable have been extracted to benefit other people. Ultimately, those who benefit from the Black community may not defend and support Black women when they need it most. To me, the art shows some of the most powerful women in our current society and it reflects those of our past. Black women are one of the most vulnerable groups in our culture, who have never been given their due credit, whether it be in formulating a new segment of social media or in organizing the entire Civil Rights Movement. This work is more important now than ever before, as we’ve experienced a year of protests and begging elected officials to give Black people, particularly Black women, the justice they deserve. Without ever blatantly telling audiences that the subjects are Black, due to the manipulation of colors, Cherry relies on the strong brand these women have created through their internet presence to tell audiences of the common thread throughout. The confidence and influence of these pioneers of social media carry Cherry’s exhibition through the trends and techniques they have established, stretching beyond the stereotype that such images should be reserved for the parts of the internet that wish to view them. Caitlin Cherry’s exhibition is so pertinent because it is dedicated to the images of those who are often most overlooked.
Caitlin Cherry’s Crichoues Indignation brings the world of social media to life for those who view it at The Hole or virtually, highlighting the women who make the platform what it is through their creation of new marketing techniques and the use of classic styles. The placement of objects, inclusion of various powerfully-posed subjects on a canvas, and filter-like layering of vibrant colors and patterns throughout the exhibition fully immerse viewers into the story Cherry tells, in which the most creative minds control those who consume their images.
