November 19 - December 19, 2020
The Jacob Lawrence Gallery is pleased to present Ilana Harris-Babou: Long Con, premiering the artist's most recent video work, Long Con. The new video skewers the wellness industry through stories about well-known fortune tellers and health gurus, such as the Honduran healer Alfredo Darrington Bowman, aka Dr. Sebi, and Youree Dell Harris, aka Psychic Readers Network spokeswoman Miss Cleo.
Commissioned by The Black Embodiments Studio, Long Con is presented alongside two of Harris-Babou's other recent video works: 2019's Decision Fatigue, a parody of wellness culture that takes the form of a makeup tutorial, and 2018's Reparation Hardware, a scathing critique of consumerism that promises absolution from the incalculable violence of slavery through handcrafted objects.
The Black Embodiments Studio also presents a conversation between Harris-Babou and arts writer Jessica Lynne on November 12 at 6pm. Register now.
