Devan Shimoyama is no stranger to excess. The artist crafts his own Black, queer mythology in bright colours and lavishly embellished surfaces. Within his visual lexicon, Shimoyama employs materials like building blocks to construct a space of queer transcendence: glitter, rhinestones, sequins, and fabric.
In his first public talk in the UK, Shimoyama will discuss a range of work that weaves together popular culture, mythological archetypes, and personal narrative. Shimoyama’s Barbershop Project invited members of the public to have their hair cut in a joyous space surrounded by paintings of himself, loved ones, and imagined portraits that reframe the hyper-masculine spaces of his youth. His swing sculptures and hoodies are tributes to victims of racialised gun violence and use silk flowers to evoke spontaneous memorials, celebrating life between permanence and impermanence. The Tarot Series reimagines the twenty-two Major Arcana and takes the artist and the viewer on a “Fool’s journey” via the divinatory cards.
These works seek a through-line between spiritual traditions encompassing his Baptist Christian upbringing, hybrid Black diasporic religions, Egyptian mythology, and more. Nods to popular culture suffuse Shimoyama’s fantasy world, from music (the Princess of R&B, Aaliyah), to poetry (the Jamaican writer Safiya Sinclair), to anime (the television series and manga Sailor Moon). Through these references, he transforms sites of pain into spaces of reverence and remembrance. From folklore to fantasy world-building, Shimoyama amplifies Black queer joy.
Free, booking essential
