White Man on a Pedestal

Doreen Garner and Kenya (Robinson)’s White Man On A Pedestal (WMOAP) questions a prevailing Western history that uses white male heteronormativity as its persistent model. Both artists approach WMOAP from an individual practice that is responsive to their experiences as Black women operating in a system of white male supremacy. At a time when removing Confederate statues—literally white men on pedestals—are cultural flashpoints of whiteness and class, Garner and (Robinson) play with the size, texture, and scale of white monumentality itself, referencing both real and imagined figureheads of historical exclusion.
Doreen Garner and Kenya (Robinson): White Man On A Pedestal was on view from November 10 - December 17, 2017. Courtesy of Pioneer Works. Video by Gabe Rubin.