Spotlight on Willie Little
My Own Little Corner was a multimedia, interactive installation consisting of a series of vignettes from the artist's hometown near Little Washington, NC.
Oregon Contemporary
Curated by Blake Shell, on view August 5th – October 2nd 2022. Photos by Mario Galluci.
About the exhibition
Oregon Contemporary presents In My Own Little Corner, a solo exhibition by Willie Little. In My Own Little Corner is the third and final exhibition in our large-scale program Site, a series of exhibitions by Oregon artists replacing the Portland2021 Biennial.
In My Own Little Corner (2022) by Willie Little and Curated by Blake ShellOregon Contemporary
Front Porch, 2022
Willie Little is a Black multimedia artist and author. His visual narratives document a fading part of rural southern life while also tackling topics of racism and Black Lives Matter, Social Justice, and the childhood memories of growing up on a tobacco farm in Eastern, NC.
Bedroom (2022) by Willie Little and Curated by Blake ShellOregon Contemporary
Little incorporates sculpture, painting, sound installations, re-constructed architecture, recycled memorabilia, and real-life stories.
In My Own Little Corner installation view (2022) by Willie Little and Curated by Blake ShellOregon Contemporary
Living Room, 2022
The common thread in all the work he creates is his examination of the manifestations of physical and societal decay in American culture.
The title, In My Own Little Corner, is taken from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella: “In my own little corner, in my own little chair, I would be whatever I want to be....”
Little room (2022) by Willie Little and Curated by Blake ShellOregon Contemporary
Little room, 2022
The installation invites the viewer to experience the world of the imagination of a young, Black, gay boy from rural North Carolina.
Little room (2022-08-05/2022-10-02) by Willie Little and Curated by Blake ShellOregon Contemporary
The installation includes theater walls, found objects and photographs and a sound environment lifted from the pages of Little’s recent memoir / art book, In the Sticks.
These vignettes are tableaus that transport the viewer to a time and place from his past – through sight, sound, and found objects.
Experimental site specific work (2022-08-05/2022-10-02) by Willie Little and Curated by Blake ShellOregon Contemporary
They reveal some of the artist’s dreams, conflicts, and uncertainty he experienced as an imaginative and sensitive boy from Pactolus, North Carolina in the 60s and 70s during a time of radical change, when Little desperately dreamed to one day get out of the sticks.
More about the artist
Little's solo exhibits include the Smithsonian Institution, the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, the American Jazz Museum and Noel Gallery. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay area and Portland, Oregon.
Visit our website to learn more about Willie Little's solo exhibition and our program Site, a series of exhibitions by Oregon artists replacing the Portland2021 Biennial.
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