OneOneFullBasket

Stephanie Dinkins

OneOneFullBasket

Self-adhesive vinyl and video, color, no sound 1 min, DVD loop

In her project, OneOneFullBasket, interdisciplinary artist Stephanie Dinkins responds to the aggressively commercial climate on Jamaica Avenue by re-presenting local narratives about money, meaning and (self) worth. After setting up a make-shift photo studio in an alleyway next to JCAL, Dinkins spent a number of days convincing passersby to volunteer for an interview and photography session, during which the participants were asked a series of questions about money and value. Six of the resulting images (all depicting men of color), along with quotes from or inspired by her interactions with the participants, were then printed and installed in the windowed façade of the North Fork Bank. Because of their slick appearance, Dinkins’ work may appear as promotional signage for the bank. However, closer inspection reveals a set of images of local people juxtaposed with texts that, in the artist’s words “oscillate between the languages of commerce, ritual and self-determination.” – J.D.

Improvisational artist Stephanie Dinkins, an alumna of the Independent Study Program at Whitney Museum of American Art (1997), graduated from Maryland Institute College of art with an MFA degree in 1997. Her work has been featured at Wave Hill, Bronx, NY (2006), Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN (2005), Castle Cimelice, Cimelice, Czech Republic (2001), and Snug Harbor Cultural Center, NY (1999).