Steffani Jemison: A Rock, A River, A Street

Steffani Jemison (1981) makes videos, sculptures, installations and drawings that question the inherited narratives that constitute our perception of the world. Jemison moves deftly between narrative genres and styles in this novella. A Rock, A River, A Street follows a young, Black woman who lives on the hazy border between Brooklyn and Queens in the not so distant present. As she rides the subway and walks around her neighbourhood, she recalls formative experiences from her childhood and absorbs the world around her. Everything and everyone leaves an impression. Where does your body end and the world begin? How do you locate the limit between your self and others?

During this book launch, Jemison will read from her own work and talk to artist and writer Maria Barnas, who will also read her own poems. Jemison's film Similitude will be screened as well as a selection of short films from Eye's collection, including a 1936 Mickey Mouse adventure; a choreography by Hans van Manen and hundred-year-old scientific recordings of parasites by J.C. Mol.

Steffani Jemison is an artist in Brooklyn, New York. She has presented solo exhibitions and commissioned performances at JOAN Los Angeles, Annet Gelink Gallery, Greene Naftali, Mass MoCA, Jeu de Paume, CAPC Bordeaux, the Museum of Modern Art, LAXART, and other venues. Her work has been included in significant generational exhibitions, including Greater New York 2021 and the Whitney Biennial 2019. Her work is part of many permanent public collections, including the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, Kadist, and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Jemison is the author of A Rock, A River, A Street (Primary Information, 2022). Her publishing project, Future Plan and Program, published books by Harold Mendez, Martine Syms, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Jina Valentine, and Szu-Han Ho. With Quincy Flowers, she co-founded at Louis Place, a platform for writers.