Rodney McMillian, b. 1969, USA

From Asterisks in Dockery, 2012By presenting rather than representing, exposing rather than obscuring, McMillian’s work might seem in direct opposition to the idea of illusion.

While this might be true of the work itself, McMillian accomplishes the great feat of destabilizing many of the illusions our society relies on for its survival.

We consider our private spaces to be sacred, but they are not isolated from the racist rhetoric and policies that come from the top of the political order. 

Our leaders assure us that we have come a long way, but racism and inequality persist to this day in ever-evolving ways. McMillian shows us that progress—like comfort, safety, and stability—is an illusion.

Above images and text source blog.art21.org

From Asterisks in Dockery, 2012

Red Vinyl

Untitled (2009)

 McMillan has impaled a familiar IKEA chair with a giant black tube—evoking a sort of industrial-scale phallus enacting sexual violence against a mainstay of bourgeois décor. 

For Couch (2012)

McMillan severed a sateen sofa and pasted it together with a thick band of cement.