Devan Shimoyama, Dizzy Spell, 2021; Hand-Embellished, Signed, and Numbered Limited Edition Print

Devan Shimoyama portrays the queer Black body in both domestic and imagined spaces, engaging in activities that explore magic, mythology, and pseudoscience. The figures in his work seek to display facets of their identity through these themes, as a way to present alternative depictions of Blackness. Inspired in part by the portraiture of Caravaggio and Francisco Goya, the Pittsburgh-based artist pairs oil paint with unconventional materials such as costume jewelry, sequins and beaded fabrics, as a visual reference to drag culture and Black women dressed in their Sunday’s best. 

For ART FOR CHANGE’s limited edition series benefitting the Brooklyn Museum, Shimoyama has created a print that centers on the contours of a male subject. A recurring character within his practice based off of his self portrait that he often pairs with a snake, the shamanistic figure appears here with a sequined blue snake. Whereas the snake is frequently vilified within Western culture and religions, it is revered and considered sacred in many other parts of the world. In this shared plight, the Black male and the snake become companions with a mutual understanding. Shimoyama has additionally embellished each print in this series with rhinestones and collage elements, making each a unique work of art. Of this special fundraising series, the artist notes, “The Brooklyn Museum is a significant cultural resource that has proven to me as a place that truly champions diversity, with regards to specifically contemporary art exhibitions. It has continually been a place that I need to visit, during my trips to the city over the years.” - Devan Shimoyama

Shimoyama first made his solo institutional debut at the Andy Warhol Museum in 2018, and is represented by De Buck Gallery in New York City. 

This limited edition print is part of a series created as a special prelude to the 2021 Brooklyn Artists Ball. $500 from each print sold will benefit the Brooklyn Museum and 50% of the net proceeds will benefit the artist.

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