Since I caught the Nick Cave exhibit in Nashville, I’ve been slightly obsessed with him but more importantly, artist that bring to light racial injustices and social culture using sequins. Introducing Ebony G Patterson, her style, to me, was so similar to Nick Cave, I almost confused her work for his. As a Jamaican born artist, her work “explores the constructions of the masculine within popular culture, using dance hall culture as a platform for this discourse.” Although I’ve been to countless dancehall parties in the Bronx and Brooklyn, it’s really easy to understand the comparison between the sometimes flamboyant lifestyle of gay male and a heterosexual Jamaican man.

IF you knew nothing of the story of the artist, what message she was trying to convey, honestly what would you think the story of the art piece would be? For me, it’s very easy to see what it could possibly represent. If you look closely at the shoes/sneakers that are bedazzled, couldn’t it be mistaken for drag apparel? Could you identify the subects sexual orientation, and if you say yes, how? I’ve very interested in your answer.

Tristan J.