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Seth Kelly, Down Ramses II, 2007 |
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72. FEATHER BED BY CANNON’S JUG STOMPERS, 1923 REMIX, SETH KELLY, FEATHER BED, 2007 Kelly was drawn to the Cannon Jug Stompers’ song partly because they are from his home time of Memphis but also because he finds the song, which alludes to sublime rest, persecution and incarceration, almost indecipherable and nonsensical. His image depicts the mummy of Pharaoh Ramses II, the builder of ancient Memphis on the Nile and believed to have been the ruler of Egypt during the Exodus. “South black culture mixes these metaphors in very slipper ways: Africana pride in the great civilization of Egypt and identification with the Biblical story of the Jews’ bondage ad the promise of Zion.” Floating above Ramses is an asteroid belt and walking on his shoulder is an image of Gustave Flaubert, dressed as a Bedouin with turning Egypt. Based in New York, Kelly’s paintings, drawings, collages and sculptures have been exhibited across the world. Recent exhibitions include P.S.1. and Derek Eller Gallery in New York, Expodium in the Netherlands and Kunstwerke in Berlin. www.derekeller.com |
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