At the “Edges of Ailey” Exhibition which opened on the 25th of September, 2024, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye showcases her contribution to the show. The exhibition will stay open at the Whitney Museum of American Art until the 9th of February, 2025.
A large-scale multidisciplinary exploration of Alvin Ailey’s creative and personal life, “Edges of Ailey” is presented in three parts. It includes a visually and aurally immersive exhibition spanning the museum’s fifth floor galleries, a sequence of performances on the third floor’s theatre, and a scholarly catalogue.
While the fifth floor features artworks of artists dating as far back as 1935, four artists created new artworks specifically for the show. As one of the four select artists, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye delivered two pieces titled “ A Knave Made Manifest” and “Fly Trap.”
Consistent with her oeuvre, Yiadom-Boakye employs her signature style of painting that leaves her work open to the viewer’s interpretation. In her painting of “A Knave Made Manifest,” the viewer sees four male dancers in what looks to be a preparatory rehearsal. They are left to assume that the dancer poised elegantly on one leg, backing them is Alvin Ailey or even one of his students. Who knows for sure?
Also, “Fly Trap” is made up of two separate canvases showcasing two female dancers wearing green leotards against a green background. Placed side-by-side, the two canvases have the same dimensions and together, unite to depict one image – two dancers performing together.
A Ghanaian-British artist well-known for her expansive portfolio decked in black figuration, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye is also a writer. According to the artist, she writes about the things she can’t paint and paints the things she can’t write about. It is no wonder that the titles of her paintings are mostly poetic.
This unique artist has had numerous solo and group exhibitions. Her most recent museum exhibition was at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain last year titled, “No Twilight Too Mighty.”
After six years of preparation, the “Edges of Ailey” exhibition is now taking viewers on a journey through the legacy of Alvin Ailey. The renowned American dancer and choreographer amongst many other things was an artist through and through. In his lifetime, he played a significant part in redefining the capabilities of a modern dance company. He merged diverse areas of dance and the performing arts.
Through the dance institutions he founded, Alvin Ailey has firmly established himself as a great contributor to the black community. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Centre (later known as Ailey School) has been the forging ground for generations of Black dancers.
Born in the thick of the Great Depression in rural Texas, Alvin Ailey faced racial segregation amidst the economic hardship. He discovered his destined path of dance in his teenage years. His childhood experience coupled with his adult life as a gay adult greatly fed his artistic expression as a dancer.
First of its kind and long-overdue, “Edges of Ailey” was carefully curated by Adrienne Edwards. The entire show transcends a celebration of Alvin Ailey’s lifetime. It encompasses the history of the American South, black migration and the black liberation.
As an artist whose body of work portrays nameless and imaginary black figures, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye lends her unique creativity to this beautiful exhibition. Visitors are invited to bask in this insightful black experience. The exhibition allows visitors to revisit black history through Alvin Ailey’s eyes. It leaves one with hopeful thoughts of what the future holds for the black community.
