Exhibitions

Crépu: Our DNA Extended

February 11 - May 4, 2025

Héritier Bilaka, "Rencontre", 2024. Oil and paper collage on canvas. Collection of the artist.

Part of a larger and ongoing multi-arts celebration of and meditation on the institution of Black hair culture through the lens of art.

A comb as a tool, a part as a road—the history of Black hair is delicate and complex, yet resilient. For
millennia, hair has held a symbolic weight in communities across the African diaspora.

Descendants of the enslaved and colonized share this cultural link as hair salons, barbershops, hair
supply stores and other spaces have been transformed into sacred sites of congregation and familiarity.

This selection of paintings by Zineb Allaoui, Anne-J Rene and Héritier Bilaka conveys the essence of
Blackness in its natural form, free from conformity and rooted in the multiplicity of representation
within Black communities. These artworks invite you to consider what collective parts make you, you.

Crépu: Our DNA Extended is part of a larger and ongoing multi-arts celebration of and meditation on the institution of Black hair culture through the lens of art, exploring the societal ramifications of how we present in the world.