ART IS BOND. is excited to present a special temporary installation In Kind We Trust, the first of a series of archival-based exhibitions that is inspired by artist Colby Deal's reading of "Photography on the Color Line." This book delves into the process in which W.E.B. Dubois collected and exhibited hundreds of photographs of Black Americans in the year 1900. The purpose was to showcase the true Black American experience and living conditions in the South, while also addressing the way they were viewed and portrayed by others, a phenomenon known as Double Consciousness. Over a century later, Deal aims to accomplish a similar endeavor.
In Kind We Trust is an exploration of people of color becoming the authors of their own archival representation and narrative, from within their own communities. In the making of this series, Deal attended a number of community cookouts, and interacted interpersonally with two different families, while also including a small series of images of everyday nuances of the Black community. He continued his process of building custom wooden frames for each image, while applying fabric and a combination of treatments to mimic photos as they would exist in the home. The exhibition is a reflection on the essence of humanity, the beauty of our everyday lives, and the importance of self-representation and storytelling.
Artist Bio
Colby Deal is a photographic artist born and raised in Houston, Texas and received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in the practice of photography from The University of Houston. Within his practice he explores the culmination of elements of the psychological environment as well as the physical. He shows the dynamic range of family, community and the individual by combining street photography and portraiture to capture vibrant communities.
In recent years he has incorporated the medium of sculpture and public art as a means of preserving cultural characteristics that are being erased. Colby is directly inspired by his upbringing through seeing his family’s photographs that were mostly taken by his father.
This appreciation for slowing down and concentrating on photographing what’s right in front of him, “The Now” has led him to be more in touch with using analog photography. Deal is an alumni of Project Row Houses summer residency, Red Line Contemporary Art Center residency in Denver, Colorado and has recently been awarded an exhibition at the Houston Museum of African American Culture.
