Sanford Biggers has cultivated a dynamic artistic practice that, like a time-machine, effortlessly moves between past and present histories. This artistic chameleon utilises history and interactive dialogue as key tools that inform his approach to art-making. Biggers surgically dissects overlooked cultural and political narratives in history (i.e. American, African, Asian), with the desire of pushing the boundaries of the viewer experience in order to coerce them into rethinking how they see the world’s current reality.

Biggers is a shapeshifter who oscillates between a variety of conceptual and artistic approaches in order to make his point. His works act as hybrids, unifying and juxtaposing traditional and historical matters to create fresh alternative definitions, thus producing what he calls “future ethnographies.”

He derives inspiration from a multitude of references such as Afro-Futurism, humour, spirituality, politics, music, and identity in order to forge his way forward artistically. His vast scope of mediums range from video installations like Shake (2011) to Eclipse (2006), a sculpture that is deeply informed by folklore, which he reshapes into new narratives for our contemporary time.

Eclipse, 2006
Wood, 7.62 x 5.08 x 50.8 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen

Shake, 2011
One-channel video with sound, 15’01’’
Courtesy of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen