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1708 Gallery is excited to present Primordial Emanations, that which is brought forth follows the womb: a surrender to her luminous blackness a project curated by Mahari Chabwera, hosting the Contemporary Arts Network (CAN) and featuring work by Adewale Alli, Hampton Boyer, Mahari Chabwera, Asa Jackson, Julianna Sidiqqi, and Nastassja E. Swift.  

In this shared exhibition, an entrance portal will open to a selection of recent paintings and sculptures by artists who are co-conspiring towards collective well-being, self-actualization, and self-fertilization. Primordial Emanations, that which is brought forth follows the womb: a surrender to her luminous blackness acts as both a Blacktism: a portal black through the beginning of us, and an initiation into the awareness that our inner reality creates our outer experience. This exhibition simulates a reentrance into the elemental womb, we left the placenta too soon. 

Primordial Emanations, that which is brought forth follows the womb: a surrender to her luminous blackness emerged from a planned solo exhibition of new paintings and a ritual performance by Mahari Chabwera. As Chabwera’s paintings are continually tracing black and moving forward in a journey of healing, self-revelation, respect and reparations, she, with 1708, decided to welcome the power of many with a project that demonstrates Blackness as the luminously mutable gift it is. The works in this exhibition undo the oppressive sublimation and depression of Blackness. They radiate energy that sources and beholds the incomprehensible complexity of Black bodies, Black femininity, Black energy, Black mystery, Black celebration, Black adaptability, and the eternally creative Black reality. In this sensory and contemplative exhibition, a symbolic, vaginal-like passage protects, reveals, births, and cleanses the way for the exhibition itself.  

Primordial Emanations, that which is brought forth follows the womb: a surrender to her luminous blackness allows us reentry into a symbolic space of infinite creation. The birth portal must be pathed individually, rooting the inherent intention of the project to allow for a safe, socially distant viewing that will be moderated and paced organically.  Stationed in Newport News, Virginia, the Contemporary Arts Network (CAN) is a nexus of interconnectivity and development for a strong, enduring, harmonious arts community within the global art market. The CAN opened to the public on August 7, 2020 yet has maintained a residency program for the past several months, facilitated festivals, artist development exchanges, and exhibitions since its founding in 2015. While inhabiting 1708, this project and collaboration with our regional neighbor highlights the vital fertility in promoting interdependence between independent art spaces, for collective empowerment. 

As a soul-setting exercise leading up to this project, Chabwera has released The Salt Eaters – Recitations, a series of regenerative virtual readings to be listened to, held, and remembered. Past recitations can be listened to at 1708gallery.org. Additional programming will include online artist talks, exhibition walkthroughs, and other virtual events at 1708 and at the Contemporary Arts Network.