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Artist Hank Willis Thomas Makes a Monument for the 21st Century

May 17, 2023
by The Underline
Introduction
The V sign, more commonly known as the peace sign, has in the past century achieved a level of uber-ubiquity afforded to only the most universal of gestures. It’s rare to stop and think when someone flashes one, unless you’re from the U.K., Australia, or New Zealand and read it as offensive. But what happens if you sit with it? Hank Willis Thomas is bringing that question to Miami with the unveiling of his sculpture Duality as a permanent public installation at The Underline’s River Room.
Duality by Hank Willis Thomas, The Underline's River Room

The V sign, more commonly known as the peace sign, has in the past century achieved a level of uber-ubiquity afforded to only the most universal of gestures. It’s rare to stop and think when someone flashes one, unless you’re from the U.K., Australia, or New Zealand and read it as offensive. But what happens if you sit with it? Hank Willis Thomas is bringing that question to Miami with the unveiling of his sculpture Duality as a permanent public installation at The Underline’s River Room. The Brooklyn-based conceptual artist has already embedded gestural monuments that find the universal in the specific, and vice-versa, in Boston and New York. To mark Duality’s Miami debut, CULTURED called up Thomas to talk about the inspirations and aspirations behind the work.

Read the interview here.

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May 17, 2023

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