Artist: Derrick Adams
Location: Hudson River Museum (HRM)
Dates: March 7 – August 23, 2020
Buoyant by Derrick Adams (@derrickadamsny) is a sea of water, floaters, and Black bodies in a state of rest and leisure. To the average eye, it looks like an innocent summertime celebration, but there’s more beneath the surface. Heavy stereotypes, identity and social norms are all packed into a grand illusion of a water-themed party. But what are they celebrating?
Let’s unpack the deep, blue world of Buoyant, Adam’s first exhibition at the Hudson River Museum.
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These two men relaxing in a body of water can stir several emotions, much deeper than food. While both watermelon and pizza images appear as floaters, these foods can symbolize two entirely different things. Pizza is a classic American comfort food for all, while watermelon still carries a deep dark history of pain for Blacks in the United States.
During slavery, Black people were forced to harvest watermelon crops until the emancipation proclamation took place on January 1, 1863. After the rule was passed to “free the slaves”, Black people began selling this refreshing summer fruit to make a living, which gave life to the stereotype that caused decades of racial banter. In fact, Life Magazine dedicated its entire August 9, 1937 issue to unearth the controversial topic. Click here and here to see it.
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Unlike exhibits like Sanctuary, where Adams depicted the limitations of Black travelers living in the United States during the Jim Crow era, Buoyant is a celebration of the limitless and lighthearted freedom that lies in Black leisure.
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“Regardless of all the things that are happening to Black people around the world, we still find time to connect with each other. If we were constantly in this place of battle, we really couldn’t exist. We need time to replenish our love and faith and joy.”
– Derrick Adams
When discussing Black joy in an interview with Hudson River Museum, Adams said, “Black people, sometimes, don’t give themselves that freedom of doing nothing or thinking about doing nothing as something radical in itself.” Seeing the exhibit from this perspective, you can’t help but notice that letting nature take its course can also be perceived as a radical gesture in some spaces.