Long Distance

Three artists’ work converge on the concept of distance. Duncan McDaniel’s Across the Clouds investigates modern communication and the ability to have maintained a relationship with his now wife via video chat when they were separated by the Atlantic Ocean. Crossing the idea of a tin can or “lovers” telephone where two cans are attached to either end of a taut string and “The Cloud” where so much digital communication takes place, McDaniel’s dreamy lit sculptures illuminate a long distance relationship which could never have taken place before this advanced technology. Nuveen Barwari is a Kurdish American artist exploring her dual existence in both Kurdistan and America. Being born in the U.S. and spending her adolescence in Kurdistan, Barwari calls attention to the long distance relationship with her own culture as a member of a stateless community. Using multiple media, Barwari aims to spark social commentary about migration, the struggles of refugee resettlement, transnational negotiations of self, and managing Islamophobia. Sibley Barlow is a trans artist exploring the time and space of existing inside their body. In “60 Days,” Barlow took a daily photo where they cut hair from their head and applied it as facial hair until the end of sixty days where they were left with a shaved head. Using skin and hair as a metaphor for the temporality of human existence, Barlow reveals the long distance relationship with the self and one’s own body.

Curated by Pam Marlene Taylor

Featuring: Sibley Barlow, Nuveen Barwari, and Duncan McDaniel