Soft Scrub

Soft Scrub

September 13th -
October 26th, 2019

Soft Scrub is an exhibition that considers the complicated layers, stereotypes, and foundational lessons of the Black household from the Black male perspective.

Opening Reception:
September 13th from 7 - 10 pm

When thinking of the household, I can’t but help imagine a swinging door, fake flowers, and the smell of greens on the stove for dinner. The Black household is a space of learning your own Blackness or discovering the lack compared to others. The Black household’s key is teaching survival.

“A Black family is almost like a living readymade. They are readymade. A lot of times people don’t quite realize what a resource this can be. Anything you throw at your family, they’ll definitely throw it back, and it’ll be more complicated when they throw it back at you. It won’t be what it’s supposed to be. It may not even be true. It may be corrupted. But in terms of how it’s corrupted, it can seem even truer.” 
- Arthur Jafa

You learn to “speak” when you enter someone’s home, how to protect your hair, and the importance of knowing how to play the dozens. Even though I have deemed some of these practices problematic, I still understand the vital points made by them. This way of life is, and has been, complex. Growing up it seemed, the only discourse in white media regarding the Black household was the Good Times household, The Cosby Show household, and the BéBé’s Kids household. Even though I couldn’t relate solely to one type of fictitious “lived” experience, I still interpreted these to be the blueprints of everyday Black life.

Soft Scrub is an exhibition that considers the complicated layers, stereotypes, and foundational lessons of the Black household from the Black male perspective. The title is derived from a common household cleaning agent, used to keep a house clean, presentable, and in order. Through this exhibition, I want to bring to light what it means to be from a home with clear principles that the rest of the world doesn’t necessarily feel the need to follow.

Soft Scrub is curated by Katherine Simóne Reynolds.

Artists include Cameron Granger, Collin Elliot, Devin N. Morris, keyon gaskin, Mitchell Squire, Quay Quinn Wolf, Texas Isaiah, Todd Anthony Johnson and Vaughn Davis Jr.