Sister is pleased to present Michele O’Marah and Henry Taylor’s Repeat after me: I AM a Revolutionary at RENTAL in New York. The exhibition is comprised of painting, sculpture, works on paper, and video, centering around the revolutionary figure and Black Panther leader Huey Newton.

Michele O’Marah approaches the subject through a video recreation of a 1973 interview between Newton and William F. Buckley, which took place at Trinity University as part of Buckley’s television program Firing Line. Interested in the drastically disparate backgrounds of Newton, a black, grass roots political icon, and Buckley, a wealthy, conservative blue blood, O’Marah dissects and pieces back together their substantive and unglamorous discussion about the broad topic of revolution. Using the original dialogue, O’Marah enlists non-actors, artist Henry Taylor, and Maynard Monrow to play the parts of Newton and Buckley. Drawing inspiration from the common practice of historical re-interpretation and misrepresentation found in the American media, O’Marah prefers her cast to serve as interrupters, inserting much of their own personalities into their characters and often, quite obviously, reading their lines. In addition to the video piece, O’Marah will display hand-made set pieces, works on paper, and photographic portraits of each character.

In addition to playing the role of Huey Newton, Henry Taylor will present several paintings inspired by the tumultuous life of the former Black Panther leader. Growing up in California at the height of the Black Panther movement, Taylor has had an ongoing interest in and connection to black political movements. Taylor’s paintings frequently address class struggle and racism often incorporating found objects and scraps into his frenetic and often biting painting. Taylor’s work will focus on the mythic political figure of Newton, as well as the equally controversial aspects of his storied, sordid personal struggle with violence and substance abuse.

Michele O’Marah has had solo exhibitions at Sister and Mary Goldman Gallery. Additionally, her work has been featured in group exhibitions at White Columns, Smith-Stewart Gallery, and Daniel Hug. O’Marah received her BFA from the Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia.

Henry Taylor has exhibited in solo shows at Sister, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Atelier Cardenas Bellanger, and Daniel Reich Gallery, with an exhibition at the Santa Monica Museum scheduled for 2008. Additionally, Taylor has been featured in group exhibitions including the Rubell Family Collection, Milliken Gallery, Sweden, MOCA North Miami, and Ben Kaufman Gallery, Berlin. Taylor received his BFA from CalArts.