Black Power Naps, Chill Pill (Rockabye Baby), 2022, Plywood, paint, mattress, dye, cotton gauze, Kanekalon hair, 16.4 x 9.8 feet
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Black Power Naps (Navild Acosta + Fannie Sosa) (he/him, they/them) is a sculptural installation, vibrational device and curatorial initiative that reclaims laziness and idleness as power. Their practice both exposes the oppressive nature of how rest has been denied to marginalized populations and creates a space for reparation and the redistribution of rest.
We invite you to rest and relax in the gallery on the sculptural installation from Black Power Naps. The rocking motion of Chill Pill, its soft multihued tie-dyed fabrics, rounded shape, and plush space soothe the weary visitor. This installation is a pointed intervention into traditional gallery spaces that offer few areas for extended contemplation by a seated public, let alone reclining and sleeping. The rocking sculpture soothes the guest and exists as a critical form of care that, in so doing, also serves as an anti-racist tactic. Black and Latinx people have been stereotyped as lazy even as white supremacy has dictated their bodies labor on frontlines of all kinds. During the Covid-19 pandemic, an unsurprising paradox emerged: workers deemed “essential” were also made disposable by a society that exposed them again and again to the dangers of infection through unsafe and laborious working conditions. The Chill Pill is a space where rest can be immediately reclaimed, where we can contemplate how to hold institutions accountable, and where the ongoing oppression perpetuated through the denial of repose is, at least for a moment, halted
For Chapter 3 of Indisposable: Structures of Support after the ADA Black Power Naps created a film entitled FRONTLINES OF ALL KIND documenting their endeavors and challenges during the pandemic. By creating a collage of the beautiful moments found against the backdrop of institutional power structures, FRONTLINES OF ALL KIND offers an insight into what liberating spaces of rest for Black and racialized people entails.
Instagram: @black.power.naps @navildacosta @fanniesosalove
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