At Art Basel Miami Beach, the artist Christopher Myers put up a space honoring the Black diaspora. Exhibition text: “Christopher Myers built a chapel for the stories of the sea in the Meridians sector of Art Basel Miami Beach. Inside a dimly lit hexagonal structure, a gentle glow emanates from five large stained-glass paintings installed in lightboxes. His imagery draws from sources including fantastical water creatures, blues music, water deities, and spirits – references which Myers uses to make connections between the water, African diasporas, and legacies of Black dislocation. Both theatrical and religious at once, Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me (2022) looks like a devotional space and a theater set. It’s a fitting combination, drawing on Myers’s practice as a playwright and visual artist. During the fair, the installation will be activated by a performance with puppets and original music. Christopher Myers, Let The Mermaids Flirt with Me, 2022 is presented by James Cohan Gallery in the Meridians sector at Art Basel Miami Beach.”

Christopher Myers: Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me / Art Basel Miami Beach 2022. Miami Beach, November 29, 2022.

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About the artist (excerpt, source: James Cohan Gallery): “Christopher Myers is an artist and writer whose work across disciplines is rooted in storytelling. Myers delves into the past to build narratives that speak to the slippages between history and mythology. His diverse practice spans textiles, performance, film, and sculptural objects, often created in collaboration with artisans from around the globe. He has worked with traditional shadow puppet makers in Jogjakarta, silversmiths in Khartoum, conceptual video artists in Ho Chi Minh City, young musicians in New Orleans, woodcarvers in Accra, weavers in Luxor, metal workers in Kenya, and textile printers in Copenhagen. These collaborations are driven by his interest in understanding the ways in which globalization is intimately intertwined with notions of self and community.”