Vickie Aravindhan (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2021

The third and final iteration of the Yali mask series is situated in the attic. This Yali is the softest in build and material, and was made is response to Justin Rabidu's, Air Mail and his legacy as an artist and citizen of the world. His contribution to Elsewhere exists here in the attic where it is arguably the quietest, most contemplative site of the museum. Here, the Yali will serve as a guardian to Justin's memory as well as all future peoples who reside in the attic and after as they return/journey on.

Jasmine Best (Greensboro, NC) | October 2021

Curation Doll draws power to protect so that we do not have to be strong. The doll figure has skin made of images of flowers arranged from Elsewhere’s own fabric collection. The era of these fabrics informs the aesthetic and associations of the florals. The actual flowers collected from the collection drape the doll and, it’s resting chair, and the frames on the wall creating a protective covering. The artist’s own family would make fabric dolls and place them on chairs both as showcases of skills previously only appreciated in a domestic context but what felt to be as protectors of a domestic space. The Doll figure sits relaxed and reserved in front of an abstracted family photo wall. Pulling more power from the idea of personal black curation in reference to an essay by Bell Hooks about how home photo walls were some of the only places Black people were able to control their own image in a gallery like space.