Triple Candie is pleased to present a newly commissioned group of works by Harlem-based Sanford Biggers. It will be the artist’s New York solo debut. Over the past two years, Biggers has had one-person exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati; Contemporary Art Museum, Baltimore; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Contemporary Art Museum in Baltimore; and Berkeley Art Museum. This project—which will consist of a floor-painting made of colored sand, a video, and a stage set—is consistent with Triple Candie’s desire to support artists in the creation and presentation of artworks of a decidedly non-commercial nature.

At first glance, the large-scale sand-painting (40×20 ft.) will look like an Islamic prayer rug because of the bright colors and the design it employs. However, upon closer insprection, these patterns will become recognizable as words in a text that addresses issues of global capitalism and its influence on democracy, both in the media and in everyday life. Accompanying the sand piece is a video depicting an anchorman—filmed with a professional actor—who delivers rant-like monologues, and the life-size movie set in which the video was shot.

The exhibition is inspired by the 1976 movie Network: a story about a veteran anchorman who loses his job at one of the three major networks and then uses his position at a less prominent television station to speak honestly about media corruption. Biggers’ installation transforms a cultural relic into a timeless message that resonates with our own contemporary reality.