John Jay College of Criminal Justice presents LIKE IT IS, an exhibition of new works by Nyeema Morgan. Through the mediums of drawing, video and text, LIKE IT IS is an ongoing investigation of the tenuous distinction between the banal and the exceptional.

Morgan explores systems as presented through familiar models (games, text, et cetera) to describe the interplay between personal and cultural knowledge as related to identity, behavior and navigation. LIKE IT IS introduces these examinations as a conceptual framework that posits that expressed ‘specialness’ is actually exponential normalcy, rather than a truly unique instance of singularity. By distilling elements of popular culture, LIKE IT IS reveals a commonplace phenomenon where the remarkable becomes a thing that is no longer outside the range of what’s expected, but a kind of super-mundane made obvious by its ubiquity.

Nyeema Morgan is a New York based artist who received her B.F.A from the Cooper Union School of Art in 2000 and M.F.A. in 2007 from the California College of the Arts. She has been a resident artist at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (Maine), the Emerge 10 Program at Aljira Center for Contemporary Art (New Jersey), and is a current resident at the Henry Street Settlement/ Abrons Art Center (New York City). She has been a contributor to the artist-run publication Color&Color and has exhibited her work at Supermarket 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden; Ping Pong Gallery, CA; Temporary Autonomous Museum, CA; Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, NJ; FAB Gallery, VA and most recently Saint Cecilia’s Convent, NY.

The exhibition is curated by Kenya (Robinson), a New York based artist and independent curator. Her sculptural, sound, performance, and curatorial work focuses on mass consumerist culture.