B. ANELE: I DON’T PLAY THAT GAME

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX. July 2018 - October 2018

B. Anele: I Don’t Play That Game is a solo exhibition of the Houston-based transdisciplinary artist’s most recent work, ranging from raw-canvas sculptural garments and portraiture to soft sculpture. The exhibition was accompanied by a fashion show that took place within the installation. B. Anele’s garments are sculptural, transcending into almost infrastructural and architectural forms. From conjoined jackets with arms that extend into a monumental, unifying chain to a jumpsuit with tar-colored, ten-foot-long pant legs intersected by broken, white road lines, their works commune with space, act as elements of support/restriction, and prescribe the reciprocal relationships between the wearers and their surroundings. Anele’s work is invigorating and saturated by a vibrant visual vernacular that they have infused with gestural strokes of primary colors, fruits, and counter-cultural icons, from the smiley faces of club culture to retro roller skates that have enjoyed a renaissance in the queer community. Their work has a graphic vitality that energizes and reawakens a sense of wonder and creative expression. For Anele, expression is poised as a form of social activism, as well as an accessible and inclusive alternative to homogeneity in contemporary culture.

Artist: B. Anele

Role: Curator

Photography by Ryan Francisco + Scott Cartwright