A Sequence for Squeezing is a solo show of lens-based work by 2021 Baxter St Workspace Resident Naima Green. Featuring new and recent photographs, as well as a recent video work, the exhibition continues Green’s practice of collaborating with her community to create intimate portraits and record personal scenes of play, exploration, and pleasure. Focusing on the experiences of Black, Brown, and Queer individuals, the exhibition builds on and expands the themes of Green’s previous work, exploring water as a site for pleasure and freedom, the sensuality of enjoying food, and the rituals of intimacy.
On the back wall of the exhibition, a giant vinyl double-exposed image of the Rockaways serves as the backdrop for Green’s video work The Intimacy of Before. The Rockaways — and water — are an important reoccurring site in Green’s life and work, and water is featured across much of her new work, even if as a subtle suggestion. At Baxter St, the Rockaways frame Green’s intimate video self-portrait, a sensual exploration of self the artist shot in her apartment during the early days of the COVID pandemic. The audio from the video, including the sounds of waves and Green’s own voice, becomes a soundtrack to the exhibition as a whole, asking, as she does in the video, “Is it too much to want a tender and complete intimacy?”
A Sequence for Squeezing is on view through July 23 at 126 Baxter St