Alexandria Smith: A Litany for Survival

Abstract

A Litany for Survival, Alexandria Smith’s first solo exhibition in Boston, is an installation of recent figure-based paintings and drawings that explore Black female subjectivity. Smith’s tonally rich canvases often centralize pairs of female figures that reside within environments that are subtly political and at times, intentionally nondescript. Depicted in profile, Smith’s figures are simultaneously mirror image and twins. Through these painterly acts of doubling, Smith embodies multiple states of being, while also exploring concepts of hybridity and duality. A Litany for Survival draws its title from the Audre Lorde poem of the same name, pointing to the political implications of the Black body. Working within a primary palette of black, blues, purples, and greys, Smith’s paintings illuminate the complexities of Black identity through subtle gradations of color, dark light, and shadow.