Cerebral Caverns

by Radcliffe Bailey, 2011

wood, glass, and 30 plaster heads

Radcliffe Bailey is a painter, sculptor, and mixed media artist who incorporates themes of ancestry, race, and memory into his pieces. ‘Outer Spaceways’ was one of Bailey’s exhibits that showcased those elements working together to create an ‘immersive environment that approaches one cohesive installation’ (Jack Shainman Gallery). He believes that he can achieve and understanding of a universal history through translating his personal experiences. Most of his work is created out of found materials and pieces from the past, including traditional African sculpture, piano keys, and red clay. Below are some other images of Bailey's work.

In Cerebral Caverns, the heads are looking to help one another, but are having trouble and end up looking out to others, as if they are trying to find an answer. This is placed at the end of the ‘In Memory of Mark Duggan’ section to show how other Africans (American and all over) are looking for answers as to why police brutality is still common and directed to black people. In Rankine’s book, this art is placed in the same section as the story of Mark Duggan. He was a black man living in Great Britian and was attacked in a way that was similar to Rodney King; riots that broke out in England similar to those in the United States. The heads look like the bust of a black man, and they appear to be whispering to one another, which could be them telling each other to remain in the cabinet, or what is happening to people of color who are not in the cabinet. Here are some other works that appeared in "Outer Spaceways", alongside Cerebral Caverns.

"RADCLIFFE BAILEY / OUTER SPACEWAYS / April 21, 2011 – May 21, 2011 /." Radcliffe Bailey/ Outer Spaceways :: JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2017. <http://www.jackshainman.com/artists/radcliffe-bailey/>

Exhibit-E.com. "Radcliffe Bailey - Artists - Bridgette Mayer Gallery." Radcliffe Bailey - Artists - Bridgette Mayer Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2017. <http://www.bridgettemayergallery.com/exhibitions/radcliffe-bailey>

~ Research by Alexis Mitchell and Caroline Nelson