Metal, sawdust, wood glue, wood, hardware, original garments, custom jewelry
160 x 50.8 x 68.5 cm
TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary

The sculptures by Akeem Smith in collaboration with Jessi Reeves are made of found materials, including authentic garments and jewelry. They evoke Sandra Lee, a Dancehall Queen, a trendsetting, iconic figure in the dancehall community in Jamaica since the 1980s. Part body, part sculpture, dolls and mannequins mix animate and inanimate matter: they mediate between the living and the dead. They are fixtures in the surrealist repertoire of the Uncanny—but also casual, functional props for tailoring and modeling. Entitled Mannequin (with dress), Sandra Lee, 2005 (No. 1 and No. 2, both 2020), the mannequins of Sandra Lee are not only tributes to an outstanding individual but the reliquaries of the entire Jamaican dancehall culture. – Adam Szymczyk


CURRENT LOANS

Group show: Remedios
Venue: C3A Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía, Córdoba
Curator: Daniela Zyman
Exhibition 14 April 2023 -  March 2024