“Rewriting History,” an exhibition by Haitian-born artist Fabiola Jean-Louis, will be on view Sept. 7 through Nov. 20, at Point of Contact Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public by appointment only, with proper social distancing and the use of face masks over the nose and mouth. Guided tours will be available virtually or upon request.
Image courtesy of Hedspeth Art Consulting
Point of Contact will host a virtual artist talk and discussion panel via Zoom for “Rewriting History,” on Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Panelists include Fabiola Jean Louis; Yvonne Buchanan, associate professor of studio arts at Syracuse University; Tanisha Jackson, executive director of the University’s Community Folk Art Center and professor of African American studies; and Shana Gelin, doctoral candidate in counseling and counselor education at the University. Meeting ID and passcode can be found on Point of Contact’s website, puntopoint.org, under Current Exhibition.
Jean-Louis was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1978 and moved to Brooklyn, New York, at a young age. While attending the High School of Fashion Industries, her passion and talent for the arts flourished. Jean-Louis discovered her talent for photography many years later in November 2013 while on a journey of personal healing. She began taking self-portraits as an emotional release, and as a result of a lack of resources and personal shyness. Later, her work grew to include other subjects and costumes, as well as sculptures made entirely out of paper.
“Rewriting History” takes the viewer back in time through life-size paper gowns and props that mimic fabric. This incredible use of resources represents the challenges Jean-Louis faced financially and the history and stories of Black women. Her work addresses the complicated layers of self-awareness and what makes up the historical truths we have been taught to accept about race and the roles of women, both past and present. The Chicago Sun-Times refers to the work as a juxtaposition of “beauty and brutality in her mixed-media exploration of racial struggles during various periods of American history as well as contemporary America.” This exceptional showcase blends the mediums of sculpture, fashion, photography and even painting, as the combination of works confront the visual and written history, we have all come to know.
“Rewriting History” began in 2016 and opened as a solo exhibition in 2018 at the Smithsonian affiliated DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago and at Alan Avery Art Company in Atlanta, and in 2019 at the Andrew Freedman Home in New York City to critical acclaim.
This program is possible thanks to the support of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of Cultural Engagement for the Hispanic Community and the Coalition of Museum and Art Centers (CMAC) at Syracuse University, and is part of Syracuse University’s Humanities Center 2020-2021 Symposium “Futures.”
