Fire as a Symbol of Resistance: An Art Review of Diedrick Brackens' Weavings at the Joslyn
Diedrick Brackens (American, born 1989), through the eye unburnt and blameless, 2020, woven cotton and acrylic yarn, 98 x 96 in., © Diedrick Brackens. Courtesy the artist and Various Small Fires, Los Angeles/Seoul
By Jr Contributor Madison Johnson
The atmosphere of the Joslyn Museum is quiet, giving you not only the space to admire the art but to think about and reflect on it as well, which is precisely what Diedrick Brackens’ pieces make you do. Brackens' works are inspired largely by police brutality and state-sponsored violence due to an event that shook his hometown of Lake Mexia, Texas. Eight years before he was born, three Black teenagers drowned in police custody.
Each piece addresses not only the pain that incidents like this cause, but also how people can persevere through these events.
Through the eye, unburnt and blameless depicts two people stepping through flames towards each other. The plaque next to it explains how fire has been used to torment communities of color throughout history and how this piece aims to reclaim fire as a symbol of revolution. Despite the fire around them, the figures pictured are coming out unburnt as the name of the work suggests, undeterred by what's happening around them, reaching towards one another and according to the description, "In search of protection and empowerment.
The use of fire as a symbol continues into the piece Prometheus Twenty, which depicts a person standing among the flames with a fist in the air and a flame in their hand. The plaque notes how "a single small flame-like the one this figure holds in his outstretched hand-can spark a revolution." However, within the context of the myth of Prometheus, this piece could also symbolize civil disobedience. Just as Prometheus went against Zeus in stealing fire to help humans, sometimes you have to break an immoral law to fight against it.
A passage from Essex Hemphill's "Tomb of Sorrow'' is painted on the back wall of the museum. It reads, "I rummage through ancestral memories in search of the original tribes that fathered us. I want to remember the exact practices of civility we agreed upon. I want us to remember the nobility of decency." I think this quote speaks to the heart of the artwork displayed that the fighting occurring now is not how the world is meant to be, that we can overcome all this, and maybe one day we'll be able to live in peace.
Diedrick Brackens (American, born 1989), on this intimate earth, I fear 10,000 states, 2020, woven cotton and acrylic yarn, diptych, each: 72 x 72 in., © Diedrick Brackens. Collection of Arthur Lewis and Hau Nguyen.
On This Intimate Earth, I fear 10,000 States depicts two very different scenes. On the right, there's a person standing with two dogs under their control, while on the left, there's a similar-looking figure is being attacked by dogs. The plaque for this piece makes it clear that the dogs are meant to represent state-sponsored violence, so the right illustrates how the government is supposed to protect and serve the people, while the left depicts how the government actually treats its people.
Diedrick Brackens (American, born 1989), grief has no gills, 2020, woven cotton and acrylic yarn, 81 x 79 in., © Diedrick Brackens. Courtesy the artist and Various Small Fires, Los Angeles/Seoul
Grief Has No Gills depicts a person wading through waist-high water and starting to transform to match the color of the sky around them. In the context of the title of this piece, this likely represents grief overwhelming and taking over someone, changing them in response to the tragedy that they've just experienced.
These four pieces all elicit deep emotional reactions that take time to process. The exhibit is located in a tucked-away corner towards the back of the main gallery that serves as a comfy spot to just sit and think, which is exactly what these pieces are intended to do.