BETHANY COLLINS is a multidisciplinary artist whose conceptually driven work is fueled by a critical exploration of how race and language interact. In drawings, prints, paintings, and sculptures, Collins interrogates words in order to reveal their potential to empower or betray us. She uses official frameworks for language, as in standard dictionaries and political reports, as starting points for inquiry. From there, she isolates and manipulates text by labor intensive acts of rubbing and erasure, creating fields of illegibility which house precisely chosen phrases. The completed works address the struggle of the individual to navigate issues of race, power, and histories of violence.
Featured Artworks
Flesh, 1982
Toner and graphite on American Master's paper in two parts, 30 x 22 inches each
The Star Spangled Banner: A Hymnal (2020)
Artist book with 100 laser cut leaves, 9 x 6 x 1 inches
Where the lash is made red in the blood of the slave (The Chase) (2021)
Charcoal and acrylic on panel, 48 x 72 x 2 inches
The Odyssey: 2000 / 2017 (2018)
Graphite and toner on Somerset paper in two parts, 44 x 30 inches each