James Gregory Atkinson

The Völklingen Ironworks flooded in red light
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Oliver Dietze

born 1981 in Bad Nauheim, Germany
lives and works in Frankfurt-Main, Germany / Seattle, USA

Web presence

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toxithegoat/

Werke

6 Friedberg-Chicago

Datierung
2021

Video-Loop with Sound 6:16min

Beschreibung

German-American artist James Gregory Atkinson combines elements of social and political history with his autobiography to examine the absence of Afro-German experiences within dominant narratives of race, identity, and nationality in Germany. In 6 Friedberg-Chicago, young men—filmed on a segregated basketball court and in a defunct Burger King—are united by their Afro-German experience.

With His Head Held High. Re: Stand and Fall

Date
2023

Description

Head Held High. Re: STAND AND FALL deconstructs the toppled monument of Hermann von Wissmann. The memorial once featured three bronze figures with Wissmann on top, looming over an Askari soldier and a fallen lion. Atkinson now focuses on the Askari alone and his upright representation, to highlight and infiltrate the complexities of colonial identity and resistance.

P

Date
2024

Description

Time Capsule: Toxi Lives Differently, 2024, integrates Emil Doerstling’s 1890 painting Preußisches Liebesglück (Prussian Joy of Love). This work delves into themes of race, identity, and collective memory, contrasting the painting’s idealized portrayal of intimacy with the harsh realities faced by Black individuals in the German Reich and (post-) Nazi Germany.

 

Exhibitions