Ari Brielle
Region: West
My practice is an ode to the women who came before me, combining painting, photography, and research to explore Black American femme identity, and examine how the politicization of our bodies affects our experience. Through self-portraiture and installation I am processing my own experience with endometriosis and all that comes with it—losing connection to my body, hopelessness, and healing—while framing it within the broader context of the intersections between Black Americans, science, and exploitation in the United States. Materiality and installation are deeply important to my work. I’m interested in how different materials talk to each other within a space, and how the coupling of paint and silk, or sound and object, can reveal complex truths.