(8/30/2021 - 10/10/2022)

Philadelphia artist Shawn Theodore is known for creating eloquent and sophisticated photographic compositions that he calls Afromythology—"a method of creating visual content untethered to time, and its goal is the dethroning of monolithic Black identities, broadening the discussion of Black figurative representation beyond futuristic ideation, and the decolonizing of postmodern and contemporary African American photography, collage, and mixed media.” 

Theodore describes Stillness in the Wake as a “composite photographic image of four young African Americans who were in silent, still protest along with 100 others in Rittenhouse Park, Philadelphia, 2018.” He says the imagery was inspired by Roy DeCarava’s photograph Four Men, 1964. Theodore notes that the connection between his photograph and DeCarava’s is best explained through the following quote by writer and activist James Baldwin, “Society must accept some things as real; but he must always know that visible reality hides a deeper one, and that all our action and achievement rest on things unseen.”  

Theodore created this image specifically for the airport “to ensure and uplift the visibility of Blackness in predominantly white spaces.” 

Visit shawntheodo.re. Theodore is currently represented by Paradigm Gallery, Philadelphia, [email protected].