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The Arts Intel Report

Under the Palm Tree Leaves

Sept 25 – Oct 30, 2021
2660 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034, United States

Christopher Udemezue doesn’t just revisit historical events—he reimagines them. Exploring Caribbean and Black history through photography, the New York-based artist only casts queer models to reenact pivotal moments, such as the starting point of the Haitian Revolution. The artist’s first solo show in Los Angeles—exclusively showing his photography—features his signature lush, bright, and highly stylized compositions. Inspired by folklore and oral history, the works on display at the gallery’s Culver City outpost also see the artist’s own friends and family mingling with historical and mythical figures. Photographs on view include Untitled (Down by the Spanish River, stained in sugarcane), which stages the folklore legend of Queen Nanny (she’s featured on Jamaica’s $500 bill), who could deflect bullets. —J.D.

Christopher Udemezue, “Untitled (Taken by the loa with a knife in her hand, she cut the throat of a pig and they all swore to kill all the whites on the island),” 2017. Courtesy of the artist and Anat Ebgi.