DENZEL T. RUSSELL REP YOUR SET

Americana is seen as an amalgamation of artifacts that represent the cultural heritage of the American experience. Far before it was a term used to describe a certain period of American music and fashion, Americana was for some, the indicator of the Country’s past, present and future.

In Denzel T. Russell´s REP YOUR SET, the artist explores the ephemeral nature of America´s cultural heritage through one of it´s most recognizable objects; the bandana. In recent memory, the bandana is most closely related to inner city gang activity whereas historically we have seen shrouding the faces of cowboys in the “old west“ and tied to bodies of confederate apologists, some of whom have taken the “Dixie“ flag (better known as the rebel flag) and have further evolved it into the banner of their utopian ethno-state desires. Denzel´s research, culminating from his own experiences, allows us, the audience to question the contemporary importance of unity, perception and the subjectivity of nostalgia.

-Joseph Cochran II