Jeffery Gibson, the artist currently representing the United States at the 60th Venice Biennale, is presenting a series of public art installations during Climate Week New York. The project, running until September 29th, aims to spark public dialogue on climate change and the intricate relationship between humans and nature through immersive art experiences.
Central to the project is Gibson’s moving image animation, The Spirits Are Laughing (2024). This 11-minute video work, featuring animated designs and evocative texts, draws on Gibson’s Choctaw and Cherokee heritage to explore Indigenous kinship and environmental consciousness. The piece was originally created for The Hudson Eye art festival in 2021 and has been adapted for large-scale projections at several New York landmarks, such as Union Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Columbus Circle.
Meanwhile, the Creative Time Summit 2024, themed “States of Emergence: Land After Property and Catastrophe,” will take place from September 20th to 22nd. This summit will gather artists, activists, and thought leaders from around the world to discuss innovative responses to climate and social crises. The Spirits Are Laughing will be projected onto the Brooklyn Academy of Music facade, where the summit is taking place.
“Our collective relationship to the land and the environment affects everyone currently and also sets the stage for future generations to come,” said Gibson. “I hope the messages embedded in The Spirits Are Laughing inspire people to take notice of the living and breathing plant, animal, and environmental beings that surround us and care for us. This relationship needs to be reciprocal, and we must care for them in return.”
A member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent, Gibson is the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States in a solo pavilion at the Venice Biennale. His presentation, “the space in which to place me,” intends to reclaim and celebrate Native and queer narratives. During Atlanta Art Week this October, Gibson’s traveling exhibition, “They Teach Love” will be presented at the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art in Kennesaw, Georgia.
