Curator’s Note: Shine Bright like a Diamond

Excerpt:

Steps from 52 Walker is the bustling intersection of Broadway and Canal, where the sidewalks are lined with knockoff designer bags and the tourists and passersby enticed by the promise of owning a piece of perceived luxury at a fraction of the cost. This juxtaposition of high fashion and counterfeit goods sets the stage for Kayode Ojo’s exhibition—an exploration of the thin line between the real and the replicated, the coveted and the commodified. Featuring flutes and handcuffs, chandeliers and gowns, EDEN epitomizes Ojo’s knack for recontextualizing objects, imbuing them with new meanings and associations. 

For the ninth exhibition at 52 Walker, Ojo transformed the gallery into a sanctuary that sat somewhere between the comfort of home and the allure of a party, creating a fleeting escape from the everyday. Throughout the run of the show, Ojo spent time in the space, calling it “church,” a tongue-in-cheek nod to his upbringing and the idea that a church should be adorned with beauty in a visual expression of the congregation’s devotion. The exhibition’s title, EDEN, hints at a utopian space, here defined in terms of beauty, access, and luxury, while simultaneously touching on the impermanence and fragility of the ideal. As Ojo and I discussed while working on the show, in the book of Genesis, the story of Eden fits on a single page, and yet holds so much reverence within society’s understanding of such totemic dichotomies: right and wrong, good and evil, crime and punishment. Through the exhibition, Ojo connects this fleeting moment of biblical perfection with the historical and social struggles of the black middle class. 

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