Artists

Rindon Johnson

Press release

Rindon Johnson (°1990) is a visual artist and poet. For his exhibition at Cc Strombeek, Johnson investigates the history and meaning of the fabulous mahogany wood and its contemporary use.

Rindon Johnson (°1990) is a visual artist and poet. His work highlights the elusive, ambiguous nature of language. He was born on the non-sferred land of the Ohlone people (San Francisco) and alternately resides in Lenapehoking (New York) and Berlin (Germany). Moving between physical and virtual space, Johnson explores how language shapes our reality through disturbances, contradictions and power. In addition to using other media, including painting, stained glass, sculpture and video, Johnson kneads text, which he appropriates and combines into new combinations. Johnson's work is about the impact of capitalism, climate and technology on how we perceive and construct autonomy, value and our personal reality.

For his exhibition at Cc Strombeek, Johnson investigates the history and meaning of the fabulous mahogany wood and its contemporary use. As a valued material, among others in the furniture industry, mahogany has passed through many hands, but the islands where it grows bear the scars of its mining, left vulnerable by the loss of these shelter-provided trees. The book Mahogany, The Costs of Luxury in Early America by Jennifer L. Anderson will be used as a guide here. Anderson writes: “In the mid-eighteenth century, colonial Americans became charmed by the rich colors and silky surface of mahogany. This exotic wood, imported from the West Indies and Central America, soon displaced local furniture woods as the pece of fashion. But under the polished shine of this furniture lies a darker, hidden story of exploitation by people and the environment.”

(translated from https://www.ccstrombeek.be/expo/rindon-johnson)