Living in Eden

How do we present ourselves in and through our homes? What identities do we assume and project in our domestic space? A Guyanese-born artist living in Pittsburgh, Gavin Andrew Benjamin explores code-switching and the fashioning of self-identity in domestic space in Living in Eden.

Though the polished design and neatly arranged paintings evoke a traditional European salon or parlor, the content of the 12 sequential panels and the floor painted in the colors of the Guyanese flag explore and expose the impact of colonialism and mass media on the constructions of identity for immigrants and people of color. Benjamin’s panels mix self-portraiture, mass media images, and text drawn from articles about Great Britain’s role in the slave trade in Guyana, home catalogs, and popular media.