Cheryl Pope - TRUTH BE TOLD

Opening Reception: Saturday June 9th, 6-9 pm

Exhibition Dates: June 9th - July 7th, 2018

Cheryl Pope

TRUTH BE TOLD

The raising of a championship banner for any local sports team amounts to a milestone achievement, worthy of widespread celebration and a pause for reflection by all those involved with the game. A banner represents the culmination of a collective dream, from the players involved to those on the sideline. Yet what role does a championship banner play when it’s emblazoned with the thoughts and dreams of those who are still developing and growing–when we instead choose to celebrate the climb instead of those at the pinnacle? During the summer of 2016, Chicago-based artist Cheryl Pope spent weeks listening to young people playing on New York’s city basketball courts, parlaying loaded snippets from these conversations into the satiny block text and rarefied space of the banner. From statements loaded with confidence and idealism to vulnerable admissions that seem to defy the logic of the space in which their placed–Pope’s project empowers the voices of young people as they define themselves and their worlds through their experiences on the court. Below the banners are five letterman jackets, six snapback hats and a basketball, all carrying the same statements, with each permutation making us question as much the functions and significance of the objects on which their adorning as the impactful statements themselves. From the significance of the democratic space that is the city park, to the underlying question of why as a culture we choose to champion those who have achieved victory instead of those vulnerable populations who are struggling to do so, Pope is able to redirect our attentions through engaged listening–a practice that we should all engage in more during our troubled times.