Cotton: The Soft Dangerous Beauty of the Past
Photographs by John Dowell
African American Museum in Philadelphia
701 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 574-0380
The 35 large-scale photographs, installation and altarpiece featured in Cotton: The Soft Dangerous Beauty of the Past explore the dichotomy between the beauty of the plant, and its inexorable link to the horrors of chattel slavery in the U.S. The exhibition also evokes the often overlooked history of slavery in the North, specifically in New York City. Dowell meticulously documents cotton as a symbol to channel ideas, dreams and fantasies—and as a portal to communicate with ancestors and with the viewer.