Nan Collymore, whistle
September 15 – November 24, 2024
on participantafterdark.art

whistle is a video project by artist and writer, Nan Collymore that explores the intersection of race, gender, and power in the U.S. Collymore’s piece takes cues from Hito Steyerl's concept of invisibility through the work "How Not to Be Seen: A Fucking Didactic Educational.MOV File." whistle explores the "Karen" phenomenon — a term denoting confrontational behavior by white women, often captured in viral videos. Juxtaposing two historical touchstones: the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till, and the 2017 Whitney Biennial controversy surrounding Dana Schutz's painting of Till. Through this lens, whistle interrogates the weaponization of white female vulnerability against Black Americans, both historically and in contemporary contexts.