This Saturday, October 10, the National Portrait Gallery will begin IDENTIFY, the museum’s first-ever performance art series, which focuses attention on activism, visibility, and experimentation through portrayal. Wilmer Wilson, who is recognized internationally for his investigations of race, will begin the series with Portrait with Hydrogen Peroxide Strips.
Here’s what Wilson has to say about his performance:
“Portrait with Hydrogen Peroxide Strips is a performance and installation in which I will cover my entire body in textured hydrogen peroxide strips, commonly used for teeth whitening. It is directly related to the creative research undertaken in my Camouflage and Armor, Wholesale, and Henry “Box” Brown: FOREVER bodies of work, in which functional, everyday stickers became second skins around my body. These meditations on skin are visually arresting, creating dense patterns of repeated, identifiable symbols.”
Wilson’s performance will take place in the museum’s Great Hall at 4:00 p.m. Associate curator Dorothy Moss will introduce the performance, and Wilson will be available for questions after its completion. For more information, visit our website.
Wilmer Wilson IV (b. 1989, Richmond, Virginia) is recognized internationally for his interdisciplinary investigations of the absurd logic of cultural meaning. His work aggregates everyday objects into layers of skin or film, which then cover a body and augment its identification. He received his BFA from Howard University in 2012 and his MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2015. In 2012 he was commissioned to complete a suite of three public performances, collectively titled Henry “Box” Brown: FOREVER, for the 5 X 5 Public Art Project in Washington, D.C. Wilson completed a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome in 2014 and a residency at NLS Kingston in 2013. His work has recently been included in “Performing Portraiture” at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (2015); “State of the Art” at Crystal Bridges Museum of Art (2014); “Performing Franklin Furnace” at PARTICIPANT, INC. (2015); “Marginalias” at Field Projects (2015); and “Down to Earth” at H18 Gallery (2015). His work is in public and private collections internationally. Wilson is represented by CONNERSMITH, Washington, D.C.
