"10 of Many" is a collection of collage based cyanotypes I created for the Independence Blue Cross headquarters in Philadelphia. The works illustrate ten specific neighborhoods of the city and how their unique characteristics contribute to the overall identity of Philly. This series is ongoing..
“10 OF MANY”
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STRAWBERRY MANSION
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OLD CITY
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ITALIAN MARKET
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WEST PHILLY
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CENTER CITY
ADDRESSING THE FUTURE
A SOLO EXHIBITION BY YANNICK LOWERY. 4/6/24 - 4/21/24
Black Letter Writers Society founder and designer, Chimene Jackson, introduced the phrase “addressing the future” to Lowery as a means of relaying present wisdom to the future realm; using surfaces such as the postcard as a vehicle where the artist’s message marries with the sender’s. This concept was a catalyst for Yannick Lowery’s work of communal futuring through a series of workshops intended to reimagine Philadelphia's shifting landscape through paper collage. Provided with a collection of Philadelphia based imagery taken by the interdisciplinary artist, as well as photos sourced from city archives, participants were encouraged to consider the future of the city’s unused and abandoned spaces and how they may be sustainably repurposed. These analog compositions were then printed as postcards, and distributed as platforms upon which locals could write their visions.
With Addressing the Future, Yannick Lowery’s reimagined post office enunciates the contemporary idea of the post office as a transitional space between Now and Then. Lowery has previously described the world building approach of his paper collages as blueprints foretelling larger works. Here, Addressing The Future, marks the genesis of the expansion of his collage work into the built environment: using a variety of methods and materials from wood, acrylic, and glass to further transport viewers into his worlds. Each work shares a proverbial vision through portals of various mail devices posing the beauty and responsibility of tomorrow. Referencing the span between collective memory and premonition, these works aim to be the interstitial fascia connecting present duty to the future realm.
The concept of addressing the future is built on a circular rotation of Philadelphia imagery reimagined again and again through the lens of time itself. each work is titled after its specific address and location as reference for viewers to remember and foretell the story of the city.
— Yannick Lowery
Portfolio: Black Collagist
Curated by Teri Henderson
Illustration for Atmos: The Inner Lives of Fruit Flies by Sofia Quaglia
“They buzz around ripe peaches on warm summer nights; they fly into our eyes as we bike along wooded trails; they land in our sweet alcoholic beverages as we watch the sun set on our porch chairs. To most, fruit flies are pests—targets of the vinegar-dish soap traps we jerry-rig and set on our kitchen counters. But to scientists, they’re so much more: Fruit flies are mirrors of the human experience. “
NextFAB / DVAA RESIDENCY 2024
"The NextFab x DVAA Residency: Da Vinci Art Alliance and NextFab, two leading organizations in Philadelphia exploring the intersection of art, science, and technology, partner annually to give one artist within 20 miles of DVAA the opportunity to use our collective resources to create an exhibition and other activities during and leading up to the Everyday Futures Fest, held each April.”
Illustration for Baltimore Magazine: The Framing of Eddie Conway by Andrea Conte
“How the FBI and Baltimore Police Department conspired to infiltrate the Baltimore chapter of the Black Panther Party and Frame one of its leaders for murdering a police officer.“
ARTWORK INCLUDED IN: THE BLACK JOY PROJECT BY KLEAVER CRUZ
"In literature, there are some books that transcend mere pages and ink, becoming essential pieces of cultural expression. One such book poised to make its mark is The Black Joy Project…. This ambitious work breaks new ground." – Essence
Illustration for Atmos: I’m a young conservative Concerned about Climate Change by Danielle Butcher Franz
“As young Republicans express deeper concerns about climate change, it’s becoming clear that environmental protection shouldn’t be partisan. Ahead of the second GOP presidential debate, American Conservation Coalition’s CEO writes about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”
Illustration for Atmos: Dung, The Cradle of Diversity by Jason P. Dinh
“Guided by celestial bodies in the sky, dung beetles fertilize the land, nourishing their surroundings and engineering flourishing ecosystems.”
Traces of yarrow by Shahkeem Williams (animations)
Premiering at Rockaway Film Festival and presented by ALFREDA'S CINEMA
July 8, 2023 at 8:30 pm
T R A C E S O F Y A R R O W by Shahkeem Williams. 2022, 5 min.
“Meandering through remnants of Downtown Brooklyn’s Underground Road, gifts of yarrow are left as a tribute to the memory and activism of New York abolitionists. The film calls attention to the enduring work of everyday people advocating for freedom, liberty, and justice for all.”
Upcoming group Show
Palo Gallery is pleased to present A Blue Semiotic, a thematic group exhibition that interrogates the nature of representation and the myriad ways in which artists use symbolism to indicate the presence of their subjects. The exhibition is predominantly comprised of new, figurative works by artists including Lewinale Havette, Brianna Rose Brooks, Yannick Lowery, Kim Faler, Bianca Walker, Leon Pozinakow, Adolphus Washington, Audrey Lyall and uses the color blue as a recurring motif. Exploring parallels and convergences between written language and visual language, A Blue Semiotic interrogates the ways in which artists tell stories and convey messages through word and sign. The exhibition also shines a light upon the historical use of semiotics, and the color blue, in Black portraiture.
Upcoming Group Show
The Philadelphia Inquirer Artist Profile written by Omnia Saed
In the fall of 2021, a freelance journalist and graduate student at the Columbia School of Journalism reached out about working on an artist profile spotlighting artists in conversation with memory. Her name was Omnia Saed and since then we’ve held several discussions about my developing practice. She’s also spoken with close family members and friends of mine about my art history and early influences. Recently, her profile was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer but was unfortunately heavily edited. Fortunately, I’m able to share the original copy here. Thank you, Omnia.
Cover Art for cbc podcast, The africas vs. America
“In 1985, at the height of the Black Power era, police dropped a bomb in a Philadelphia neighborhood. Their target? A family of Black radicals known as ‘MOVE,’ who found themselves ensnared in a city — and nation’s — domestic war on Black Liberation. Over seven episodes, host Matthew Amha investigates the events that culminated in the MOVE bombing, and the long afterlife of a forgotten American tragedy.”
Book Cover art for Chrome Valley: Poems by mahogany L. Browne
“From Lincoln Center’s inaugural poet-in-residence comes this unflinching collection that intricately mines the experience of being a Black woman in America.
Boldly lyrical and fiercely honest, Mahogany L. Browne’s Chrome Valley offers an intricate portrait of Black womanhood in America. “We praise their names / & the hands that write / Praise the mouth that speaks,” she writes in tribute to those who came before her.
Browne captures a quintessential girlhood through the pleasures and pangs of young love: the thrill of skating hip to hip at the roller rink, the heat of holding hands in the dark, and, sometimes, the sting of a palm across the cheek. Friendship, too, comes with its own complex yearnings: “you ain’t had freedom / ’til you climb on bus 62 / & head to the closest mall / for a good seat at the girl fight.”
Reflections of Browne’s mother, Redbone, bolster the collection with moments of unwavering strength: “give me my mother’s bone structure / & her gap tooth slaughter / give me her spine—Redbone got a spine for the world.” Other moments explore the inherent anxieties shared among Black mothers, rhythmically intoning names like the tolling of a church bell: “Because Kadiatou Diallo / Because Sybrina Fulton / Because Valeria Bell / Because Mamie Till.”
The characters in Chrome Valley grapple with the legacies of inherited trauma but also revel in the beauty of the undaunted self-determination passed down from Black woman to Black woman. Transcendent and grounded, funny and furious, Chrome Valley brings depth to a movement, solidifying Mahogany L. Browne as one of the most significant poetic voices of our time.”
-Barnes & Noble
Vanity Fair: The Art That Inspired 6 Major Filmmakers
A short story suggested by Martin Scorsese, a 1970s documentary, a photograph of the Blitz—inspiration came from many sources to create some of 2022’s best films.
the Philadelphia Inquirer: A MORE PERFECT UNION examines the roots of systemic racism in America through institutions founded in Philadelphia
From a bus line named Jim Crow to racial violence at public parks, racism shaped Philadelphia. Can we imagine a more equitable city?
By Layla A. Jones and Dain Saint
Illustrations by Yannick Lowery
Check out this incredible story and illustrations below.
the new york times: opinion
Once You See the Truth About Cars, You Can’t Unsee It
Written by NYU professors Andrew Ross and Julie Livingston on cars as engines of inequality.
Illustrations for Citizen Magazine
“For Citizen Issue 002, Fantasy is the alternative: a place in the human mind marked by vivid imagery, the intensity of emotion, and the relaxation of reality—a landscape covered in imaginings. Issue 002 is the space just beyond the known world—full of wonder, possibilities, and questions, bursting from cover to cover with color, desire, curiosity, and new ideas.”
Check out the three spreads below and tap the link for your issue.
Fishtown Portal Boxes
Some insight into these installations…
The New york times
10 republican voters on trump’s sway
Time Magazine
Cops as robbers by josiah Bates
The Atlantic
Can Technology Simplify Federal Education Aid?
Cow Parade 2021, NYC
CowParade is the largest and most successful public art event in the world.
After a 20 year absence, The Cow Parade returned to New York City and I was selected amongst a talented cohort of artists, designers, and celebrities to design two cows for installation throughout the city. The cows will be auctioned off for charity in September 2021.
Piecing It All Together Exhibition at Paradigm Gallery
“Paradigm Gallery + Studio is pleased to share Piecing It All Together, a group exhibition of collage works curated by Natasha Guy, opening on June 25, 2021, and remaining on view through July 17, 2021.”
