Number 35 is pleased to present drawings by Frederick Hayes and video works by Jayson Keeling. Through two very different media both artists depict a turbulent humanness that underlies themes of urban existence and the circumstance of being human and alive in an unpredictable world.

In Frederick Hayes’ series, Colormatch (1-15), he creates 15 portraits from the same photograph of the same person. This repetition does not create identical drawings; he finds different aspects about his subject’s features to accentuate or play down in each rendering. The angular turns of head and the degrees of shadowing seem simplified initially, but upon closer inspection reveal an abstract patterning that lies within Hayes’ work.

Jayson Keeling’s Jesus Speak of Me As I Am (2004) shows an edited version of the 1978 film, Rockers, reduced to sequences of the reggae musicians featured in the movie walking to the song, “Jesus” by the Velvet Underground. Originally shot at the height of Reggae’s popularity and only 15 years after Jamaica’s independence from British rule, the accompanying song’s single lyric reflects Keeling’s critical take on postcolonial self-fashioning.

Also featured in this exhibition is Keeling’s video self-portrait with the artist performing to Prince’s “Solo”. As Prince demonstrates his incredible vocal range, we meet Mr. Keeling as he performs to the sorrow in the song. Through the slowed close shots, Keeling’s figure abstracts and reconfigures, revealing the emotional nature of the song and the vulnerability of being human.

Frederick Hayes (b. 1955, Atlanta) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He has exhibited at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Buffalo, Patricia Sweetow Gallery in San Francisco, and Triple Candie, New York among others.

Jayson Keeling (b. 1966, Brooklyn) lives and works in New York, NY. He has been included in exhibitions at: The Dumbo Arts Center, GBE/passerby, The Rush Arts gallery, Roebling Hall, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Paul Sharpe Contemporary, Cuchifritos, and the Longwood Arts Center.