STNDRD Presents: Danielle McCoy – “In Memory Of…”
Exhibition: March 8 – April 6
Hundreds of deaths are inked in the record books, while a small percentage are recorded from police cams and cellphone video. Trauma is on a continuous loop in a period when news and social media are either informative or ruinous. Hearts are heavy. Bodies stand dormant. Minds have become numb in a desperate attempt to remain sane. Social and mainstream media are saturated with brutalization of the black body. Trauma welcomes both sadness and rage–a deadly concoction fueled by the sting of racial disparities that have plagued us for generations.
By the time one body is gunned down, another body succumbs to the same manner of death, and the black community is unable to heal. No one is impervious to the loss of life, and one cannot heal properly without the chance to mourn. We cannot find peace nor can we come to terms with the lack of accountability and punitive measures within the judicial system as it pertains to the repetitive acquittal of white officers.
Hanging at half-mast, “In Memory Of…” fosters a sense of communal healing, promoting peace and reversing the negative affects that consume our existence. This place for mourning is dedicated to those who have lost their lives to all variations of violence.
Danielle McCoy is an artist, mother, educator, writer, co-creator of Artist In The Room and one half of WORK/PLAY. McCoy is a self-taught conceptual artist that intertwines printmaking techniques with sewing, quilt-making and hand-dyed textiles into her interdisciplinary art practice. By aiming to promote strength, self-care and togetherness among women of color, her work explores gender and identity by addressing issues rooted in race and inequality in America. Through small run publications, installation pieces, site-specific works and programming, her practice serves to build safe spaces of belonging by incorporating spirituality and intentionality into her work.
Danielle McCoy’s work has been collected privately and she continues to exhibit locally and nationally. She has developed and organized art exhibitions, sat on numerous group panels, given lectures, and offered workshops in collaboration with the LEAP Middle School Intensive at the Contemporary Arts Museum St. Louis as well as The Saint Louis Art Museum. Residencies include The Luminary in St. Louis, ACRE in Wisconsin, Forest Park Forever in St. Louis, and forthcoming Santa Fe Art Institute in Sante Fe, NM. Danielle continues to teach, work as a studio artist, and is involved in the local arts community.