"Kandis Williams: A Field" at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Richmond

Go behind the scenes with artist Kandis Williams as she takes you through her exhibition "A Field" at the ICA at VCU (November 2020 – September 2021).

In audio from a November 2020 conversation with curator Amber Esseiva, Williams guides us through the inspiration, process, research involved in creating "A Field." As Williams speaks, the camera explores the span of the gallery, capturing all the intricate details of this multi-faceted exhibition.

Addressing the regimes of control associated with labor, "A Field" (located inside the ICA at VCU's True Farr Luck Gallery) takes place within a greenhouse, surrounding the viewer with plant sculptures. These works feature photographic collages affixed to the wire forms of monsteras, palms, banana trees, and vines, appearing variously in pots on the floor or on greenhouse benches, as well as along the gallery walls. Among Williams’ plants is the artist’s new video, "Annexation Tango" (2020), produced in Virginia and Los Angeles by means of on-site and green-screen photography, as well as found footage. The fields that appear as backgrounds were formerly those of the Lorton Reformatory and the Virginia State Prison Farm, two facilities where incarcerated people were made to work as a condition of their sentences.

To learn more about "Kandis Williams: A Field," visit https://icavcu.org/exhibitions/kandis...
__________________________________________________________

To learn more about the ICA at VCU, visit https://icavcu.org/.
ICA at VCU on Instagram:   /    
ICA at VCU on Twitter:   / icavcu  
ICA at VCU on Facebook:   /    
ICA at VCU on LinkedIn:   /    

The Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University (ICA at VCU) is a contemporary arts institution located in Richmond, Virginia that showcases the art of our era, existence, and cultural moment. We are a forum for discussion and collaboration on local art to international art, activism and innovation, all through ever-evolving exhibitions, performances, films, and special programs. We invite you to participate, visit, and share in our online and in-person community.