JJJJJerome Ellis: Loops of Retreat opens on May 25 and continues through July 22, 2023, at Sweet Pass Sculpture Park. The exhibition features an immersive video installation in SP2, based, in part, on Ellis’ groundbreaking 2021 album, The Clearing. The album explores themes of music, blackness, disabled speech, and time, taking inspiration from the artist’s own stutter, which he refers to as “clearings.”
The exhibition delves into Harriet Jacobs’ concept of the “loophole of retreat,” highlighting practices of refusal in Black speech and music. Through his stutter, Ellis offers listeners a new way to perceive time.
In collaboration with Dallas Contemporary, the installation will also showcase a live improvisation performance by Ellis on May 25th at 7 p.m. The performance reflects Ellis’ latest research on ecology and themes explored in The Clearing. Drawing from materials collected for his upcoming book Aster of Ceremonies (September 2023), Ellis transforms archival material of “runaway slave advertisements” into an open-ended song for Black ancestors moving through 19th century Virginia. He reimagines these figures as plants in bloom, singing for their safety and exploring the relationship between ecology and practices of freedom. Curated by May Makki, JJJJJerome Ellis: Loops of Retreat is sure to be an unforgettable experience.
Ellis, an Afro-Caribbean composer, poet, and performer, is known for his healing, transcendent, and deeply moving works. His interdisciplinary practice has led to collaborations with numerous artists from different disciplines. Ellis’ work has been presented or developed by prestigious institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, Lincoln Center, MASS MoCA, and WKCR. He is currently a writer in residence at Lincoln Center Theater.
In 2015, Ellis received a Fulbright Fellowship to research traditional samba performance and write new music in Salvador, Brazil. His recent sound design and composing credits include projects for The Shed, Soho Repertory Theatre, TED Conferences, and A$AP Rocky. Ellis holds a B.A. in music theory and ethnomusicology from Columbia University.
Loops of Retreat promises to be an immersive journey through time, silence, and Black identity that will leave audiences inspired and transformed.