Bon Dieu Bon project in Vox Populis (Philadelphia).

Vox Populi presents four solo shows by artists grappling with challenging issues of socio-political strife using non-pedantic, highly personal, and poetic means.  In coinciding solo exhibitions, Mark Stockton, Mary Patten, Catherine Pancake, an…

Vox Populi presents four solo shows by artists grappling with challenging issues of socio-political strife using non-pedantic, highly personal, and poetic means.  In coinciding solo exhibitions, Mark Stockton, Mary Patten, Catherine Pancake, and Edgar Endress explore image, power, and propaganda – examining environmental sensing, sociological traces, and political repetition – through photography, video, drawing, and text.   The exhibitions open on Friday, December 4, 2015 and run through Sunday, January 17, 2016. / link

 “Bon Dieu Bon,” a collaborative project with archaeologist, Lori Lee that addresses the extremely timely subject of immigration.  “Bon Dieu Bon” is a multifaceted and sensitive exploration of the residue of those in flight from tragic circumstances or political strife. The project begins with studio photograph portraits that were found near the shore of the US Virgin Islands, where they were thrown aside by their owners as they ran from migration police. These photographs become physical witnesses, transmogrified by the effects of salt water and exposure to the sun and rain. The combined effect pushes the topic toward an intensely sublime aesthetic. “Bon Dieu Bon” (God is Good), is a term used in Haiti to express the hope that even in the midst of struggle one can find a solution.