(IN)COMPLETE FORMATION: Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow

December 4, 2021 – January 7, 2022
Putty’s Coronation

1086 Myrtle Ave
Brooklyn, NY

Image courtesy of Putty's Coronation.

Image courtesy of Putty's Coronation.

(IN)COMPLETE FORMATION represents the culmination of Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow critical investigation into cultural symbolism embedded in the contemporary American zeitgeist. Drawing from her lived experience and heritage histories as a Jamaican-Chinese immigrant, Lyn-Kee-Chow counters the political, economical, and social archetypes of American life through a meticulous deconstruction and reconstruction of capitalistic tropes.

Inside the gallery, Lyn-Kee-Chow has transformed the space into a re-envisioned Americana. American flags form a tent over a lit Christmas star. Behind it a semi-transparent white curtain with a drawing of a fireplace mantel gently sways back and forth. Works on paper of Lyn-Kee-Chow’s characters from the artist’s ongoing project, Junkanooacome, pulls from historical figures from the ritual freedom dance of Junkanoo. Gracing the gallery walls, their portraits are stately, yet modest. Here, Lyn-Kee-Chow creates a futuristic utopian vision of Americana. One that is deliberate and inclusive. Recognizing her own embodiment of both cultures, Lyn-Kee-Chow seeks to reveal and challenge participants’ assumptions towards capitalist/corporate symbolism embedded in American lexicon and embrace the idea of home as being multifaceted.

The exhibition (IN)COMPLETE FORMATION extends during the holiday season, when the Jamaican Junkanoo is traditionally performed. The Junkanoo is a pre-abolition satirical masquerade and decolonization satirical ceremony confronting slave-masters, and practiced during Christmas in parts of the Caribbean. Celebrations include parading with ornate costumes including grand hats replicating houseboat mansions, while others entail colorful characters engaging in miming, drumming, and dancing. In showing this work throughout the holiday season Lyn-Kee-Chow seeks to honor and extend this tradition.