MFA alum explores ancestral legacy and historical turbulence through art and archive
Image: A painting by Jessica Monette depicting the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA.
Jessica Monette's Unveiling Histories: A Fabricated Archive opens at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) on October 2nd, marking the start of the museum's Fall 2024 exhibition season and the inaugural Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week. This solo exhibition is on view from October 2 through December 15, 2024.
About
This exhibition is a deeply personal exploration, tracing fragmented pieces of Monette’s lineage disrupted not only by the Middle Passage but by ongoing events that challenge her ability to sustain a familial archive. The turbulent terrain of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 further underscored the difficulty of this preservation. From ancient to recent pasts, this collection amalgamates items and information, forming a fabricated archive that documents a colonial and ancestral past reshaped by historical turbulence.
Originally from New Orleans, Jessica Monette’s work delves into her heritage, weaving tangible yet elusive threads of ancestral legacies. The work then becomes a gumbo of artifacts that are inherited, found and fabricated. Monette’s artistic expression spans the realms of painting, sculpture, installation, and more seamlessly connecting these themes.
Jessica Monette, a recent graduate of Stanford's Department of Art & Art History, earned her MFA in Art Practice in 2024.
Visitor Information
The museum's address is 685 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94105. Museum hours: closed Monday-Tuesday, open 11am-6pm Wednesday-Saturday, and open 12pm-5pm on Sunday. Visit MoAD's website for more information.