Hank Willis Thomas at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC

This fall, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design presents a group of approximately 12 new photographs and video works by artist Hank Willis Thomas. In his exhibition Strange Fruit, Thomas explores how the concepts of spectacle and display relate to notions of African-American identity. Organized by the Corcoran, and shown concurrently with the special exhibition 30 Americans, Strange Fruit examines two forms of spectacle – the historic culture of lynchings and the commodification that surrounds professional sports – and analyzes their impact on the presentation and the perception of the black body. With contemporary representations of athletes shown together with historic images of lynched men and women, this provocative exhibition invites viewers to consider, remember, and question the transformation of black bodies into souvenirs and commercial objects. Calling attention to parallels between these disparate but linked ideas, Thomas explores how disturbing historical images inform our present perceptions.

For more information , please visit the Corcoran Gallery website – http://www.corcoran.org