Grey Lines

Due to the process-based nature of the Session program, this project will undergo constant modifications; the features of this page provide accruing information on the project’s developments.

On August 17, Jacolby Satterwhite will begin work on Grey Lines, a new chapter of his series, The Matriarch’s Rhapsody, as part of Recess’s signature program, Session. Session invites artists to use Recess’ public space as studio, exhibition venue, and grounds for experimentation.

Over the course of his Session, Satterwhite will create a 3D animated video using drawing, CG animation, and improvised and mediated performance. A continuation of The Matriarch’s Rhapsody, the series will continue to employ dance, performance, drawing, video and photos from public and private archives, combining these forms into new possibilities for generating narrative.

As in previous installments of the series, the video’s content will be influenced by Satterwhite’s mother’s drawing practice during her experience with schizophrenia. Her schematic diagrams and translations of familial space are digitally traced and rendered as 3D models, which become the formal and conceptual backdrop for Satterwhite to project his own body, creating new settings for performance.

Thus far, videos in the series The Matriarch’s Rhapsody, have exclusively employed the artists’ own body as a sole character. For Grey Lines, the artist will invite strangers to perform a series of actions based on a selection of 300 graphite line drawings and become part of the fabric of the larger work. Satterwhite will shoot visitors to the space in a green screen lab as well as offsite on the streets of Soho. He will edit the footage at Recess as he produces it. The result will be new video work that maps the overlapping visual stories told by the artist, his mother, and their audiences.

Session invites artists to use Recess’s public platform to combine productive studio space with dynamic exhibition opportunities. Sessions remain open to the public from the first day of the artist’s project through the last, encouraging sustained dialogue between artists and audiences. Due to the process-based nature of Session, projects undergo constant revision and the above proposal is subject to change.