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Join us for the opening of Yannick Lowery’s exhibition at NextFab as part of the NexFab x DVAA residency. Light drinks and refreshments will be served.
Black Letter Writers Society, founder and designer, Chimene Jackson, introduced the phrase “addressing the future” to Lowery as a means of defying Black extinction and relaying present wisdom to the future realm; using surfaces such as the postcard as a vehicle where the artist’s message marries with the sender’s. This concept was a catalyst for Yannick Lowery’s work of communal “futuring” through a series of workshops intended to reimagine Philadelphia’s shifting landscape through paper collage. Provided with a collection of Philadelphia-based imagery taken by the interdisciplinary artist, as well as photos sourced from city archives, participants were encouraged to consider the future of the city’s unused and abandoned spaces and how they may be sustainably repurposed. These analog compositions were then printed as postcards, and distributed as platforms upon which locals could write their visions.
With Addressing the Future, Yannick Lowery’s reimagined post office enunciates the contemporary idea of the post office as a transitional space between Now and Then. Lowery has previously described the world-building approach of his paper collages as literal blueprints foretelling larger works. Here, Addressing The Future marks the genesis of the expansion of his collage work into the built environment: using a variety of materials from wood, acrylic, and glass to further transport viewers into his worlds. Each work shares a proverbial vision through portals of various mail devices posing the beauty and responsibility of tomorrow. Referencing the span between collective memory and premonition, these works aim to be the interstitial fascia connecting present duty to the future realm.
Addressing the Future will be on view in the NextFab Mezzanine.
Yannick Lowery is an interdisciplinary artist based in Philadelphia, PA. Inspired by the cultural dynamism of his native New York City and present hometown, his work explores the creations of illustrated proverbs, portents, and historical souvenirs to guide the viewer through cultural introspection and responsible, imaginative perpetuation. He utilizes his own photography, found images, and archival paper materials to employ world-creation and compile instigative, investigative way-making devices (both still and animated).
Yannick attended The Atlanta College of Art (now SCAD) and Columbia College in Chicago, where he studied sculpture and graphic design. Lowery has exhibited his work in galleries and museums internationally and his work has been featured in publications such as The Atlantic, ArtForum, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Time Magazine, and several others. Ultimately, his collage works are allegorical tools highlighting the robust ecosystem of community that inspire him and become central imagery for his practice.