In this exhibition, Robin North challenges traditional uses of images and narratives that have historically been oppressive. His work explores how family archives in rural deep Southern homes function as sanctuaries and spaces of resistance, where images are critically examined and Black narratives are preserved and honored. By elevating the act of curating and displaying images within the home into the gallery, he reframes everyday domestic practices as intentional aesthetic choices that move beyond decoration. This shift in context invites discussion about the visibility of marginalized experiences, reclaiming agency and demonstrating how images can both sustain and challenge dominant narratives.
North’s conceptual framework in Keeper of the Walls draws from bell hooks’ Art on My Mind: Visual Politics, which views art as a site of empowerment, critical thought, and liberation, particularly for Black communities. The figure of the keeper of the walls serves as more than a caretaker of domestic space; it represents a storyteller and cultural archivist, embodying hooks’ idea of art as a vehicle for critical consciousness that resists exclusion and affirms Black life.
In the installation Beyond the Black Mirror, North uses transparent black two-way mirrors to create a surface that both reveals and conceals, encouraging viewers to confront the persistence of racist imagery and its historical roots.
