I AM. 

Day & Night Projects is proud to present When the World Feels Weightless, a solo exhibition by emerging artist and Atlanta sculptor Morgan Lugo. Morgan’s intricate castings in bronze and aluminum of real fruit, vegetables, seafood, molecular polygons, fingers, and mouths heap against each other in sumptuous detail—each sculpture is a feast that consumes itself in an orgy of pleasure. Lugo’s cultural identities—Sicilian, Puerto Rican, and Southern—are expressed through these cuisines of a peoples’ memory. The sculptures’ references to constellations of stars and the neurochemistry of our bodies serve as further indexes of collective and personal memory, endowing real weight on something so ephemeral. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Morgan Lugo is a Sicilian/Puerto Rican post-surrealist sculptor based in Atlanta, GA. Lugo’s practice is informed by a deep knowledge of mold making and metal casting from working as a professional foundry craftswoman for 6 years. After living through a severe head injury and losing her memory for a short period of time, Lugo became fascinated with what the physical representation of an idea or memory would look like. As she used her art practice to heal from the long-lasting side effects of brain trauma, much of her symbolism represents the reality in which she lives. Within the cosmology of her work, multiple faces, molecular structures, swirling visuals, and dream-like compositions take hold. She describes the experience of vertigo as extremely similar to the moment right before we fall asleep. The moment when the world feels weightless, time moves slowly and everything seems to be floating together. Her work is a combination between the real, the ephemeral, what we see, and where it goes in our mind. Visit http://www.morganlugosculpture.com for more information.

The Black Mecca Project’s (TBmP) mission is to cultivate the conditions for Black liberation in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a collective project by and for Black women and gender-oppressed people where we experience more love, power, healing, connection, pleasure, and freedom. TBmP serves as a platform for boldly resourcing and unapologetically amplifying the liberatory work of Black women and gender-oppressed creatives, healers, social entrepreneurs, and cultural workers.

Day & Night Projects is proud to present Dreamsicle, as part of the Contemporary On-Site program at the Atlanta Contemporary. Dreamsicle brings together three artists with Atlanta ties: Rachel K. Garceau, Gracelee Lawrence, and Stacie Rose. Garceau’s installation resembles a cascade of river stones, yet the light weight of these massed shapes is revealed through the translucency of slip-cast porcelain. Lawrence’s “digitally-skewed” fruits and vegetables slowly spin on their pedestals, displaying a shiny, colorful glaze and ambivalence to their IRL existence. Rose’s improvised wall painting incorporates screen printing and other methods of mark-making, reacting to the color and resonances of her colleague’s artworks.

Ego Death is a three part audio visual journey to decipher the ego. The audio uses from Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, FKA Twigs, DZIDZOR, Solange, and Erykah Badu to define and then attempt to break down the Ego. While the video is a mix of found footage, animation and design.

Warning: Graphic Images of Violence Against Black People After my time documenting the protest against police brutality in Atlanta. I begin to reflect on the ways that rebellion against oppression is reported on and perceived in mainstream media. ‘Dancing Around the Issues’ addresses the white gaze and silence as black pain is sensationalized in reporting, making a comparison to the rise of traditional media that exploited black people as entertainment. The repeated showing and sharing of violent images has desensitized the public from the pain and trauma of Black people. These images of murder and assault seem to become part of our daily entertainment. I saw the protest, specifically the rioting, as a release of anger, repressed after decades of being told to just be patient and protest peacefully, as state sponsored organizations continue to treat you like animals. Oftentimes being black in America feels like being an animal in a zoo, our lives and culture is a spectacle for the American public. As we beg to be seen as human and have our collective trauma honored, we are denied because a building is burnt or a window smash, called violent and told our anger isn’t justified. You see, our society values property more than it values Black lives. Instead of being given the right to protest, we get teargas in our eyes. Instead of legislation, we get the national guard. Instead of people reflecting on their anti-blackness, we get BlackLivesMatters signs. Media plays a significant role in influencing public opinion, and very little of it addressed systemic racism and internalized anti-blackness before, during or after the protest.