Untitled (Flag Fry), July 6, 2024
Art Omi, Ghent, NY
In Untitled (Flag Fry), 2024 the barbecue is a social space and the mis-en-scene through which the meaning of objects and modes of relation are transformed. Under the guise of a celebratory gathering viewers process to Vertigo, an installation of the artist’s sculptures. The gathering is punctured by performers who climb on, respond to, and interact with monumental forms using quotidian sound and movement that break down, glitch, and repeat over time. A live mix of looped and distorted diegetic sound produce a call-and-response soundtrack that marks the transformation unfolding. In the culminating action, and with participation of the public, American flags are battered in egg yolk, seasoning, and cooked to a crisp to the sound of Whitney Houston’s iconic rendition of the star spangled banner remixed into 140bpm jersey club beat. Williams creates a tactile and sensorial container through which the form and meaning embedded in structures of power are abstracted and made anew through quotidian, improvisational, dissonant, and participatory gesture.
Performers: Nyle Harris, Don Christian Jones, ms. z tye
Sound design: Kumi James