a mediocre-ass n*gga

Filter Photo is pleased to present a mediocre-ass nigga, a solo exhibition of work by André Ramos-Woodard.

"a mediocre-ass nigga is plain and simple a body of work about me. It's about who I am to myself and the outside world. It's about how I'm perceived because of the color of my skin. It's about my beautiful black family. It's about depression. It's about microaggression, and stereotypes, and niggas getting shot for no reason. It's about missing my grandmother. It's about skittles and dark hoodies. It's about the n-word. It's about being home. It's about memories. It's about Goodlettsville, Tennessee. It's about what I see in the mirror. All of this is simultaneously about what I see in the mirror and how my black body copes with the realities of this world." —André Ramos-Woodard

You can engage with the exhibition online by watching the Exhibition Walkthrough and Artist Talk Recording; and by listening to an accompanying Exhibition Playlist, curated by the artist.

About the Artist

Raised in the Southern states of Tennessee and Texas, André Ramos-Woodard is a contemporary artist who uses their work to emphasize the repercussions of contemporary and historical discrimination. Primarily working with photo-based collage, text, and drawing, they convey ideas of communal and personal identity centralized within internal conflicts. Ramos-Woodard is influenced by their direct experience with life – he is queer and African-American, both of which are obvious targets for discrimination. They use their art to accent spaces of both communal understanding and disconnect between them and the viewer, specifically those of Black liberation, queer justice, and those in positions of power and privilege that lack the information to critically recognize problems within minority groups in contemporary culture. Ramos-Woodard received his BFA from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and is currently pursuing his MFA at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. André uses both they//them and he//him pronouns.

On View: January 15 – February 13, 2021

Location: Filter Space | 1821 W Hubbard St, Suite 207

This exhibition was partially sponsored  by The Illinois Arts Council Agency and a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.