Lloyd Foster: Spiritual Technology
Upcoming exhibition
Overview
Anton Kern Gallery is pleased to announce Spiritual Technology, Lloyd Foster’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. In his latest presentation, Foster populates the main space with large-scale, textural drawings and suspended sculptures, accentuated by the hum of video and audio elements. Pulling imagery from both documentary and computer-generated source materials, autobiography and fantasy, the exhibition considers the intersections of spirituality and entertainment and the role of faith in building community.
Lloyd Foster (b. 1990, lives and works in New York) is the son of Ghanaian immigrants and grew up in Maryland. While he and his family were part of an extended Ghanaian American community in the Washington D.C. area, a major turning point in his life occurred on his first trip to his parents’ homeland at age 24. Since then, and through repeated travels over the past decade in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania, the artist’s connection to his African heritage has deepened, and his exploration of self continues to evolve.
Foster employs a myriad of materials, including paint, crayon, insulation foam, sapor sponges, fabrics, netting, and much more, but the camera is at the center of his practice. During his travels, the artist takes photos and videos of people engaged in their daily activities, of vehicles, signs and buildings, and food and beauty products he sees in local shops. Certain photos are straight documentation, and others are posed. Foster’s attention gravitates towards sights, sounds, and smells that reminds him of his childhood. After returning home from his travels and reflecting on his photos and footage, the artist follows an intuitive process by which he transforms memories into physical forms.
Christianity is embedded in Foster’s culture and his day to day life. By using social media to maintain connections from his travels, and with family back home, his algorithm pushes faith-based messaging, from daily affirmations, to clickbait headlines of church scandals, to AI videos of pastors performing miracles. Spiritual Technology explores ways that Foster’s digital consumption activates new approaches to cultural storytelling.
Lloyd Foster (b. 1990, lives and works in New York) is the son of Ghanaian immigrants and grew up in Maryland. While he and his family were part of an extended Ghanaian American community in the Washington D.C. area, a major turning point in his life occurred on his first trip to his parents’ homeland at age 24. Since then, and through repeated travels over the past decade in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania, the artist’s connection to his African heritage has deepened, and his exploration of self continues to evolve.
Foster employs a myriad of materials, including paint, crayon, insulation foam, sapor sponges, fabrics, netting, and much more, but the camera is at the center of his practice. During his travels, the artist takes photos and videos of people engaged in their daily activities, of vehicles, signs and buildings, and food and beauty products he sees in local shops. Certain photos are straight documentation, and others are posed. Foster’s attention gravitates towards sights, sounds, and smells that reminds him of his childhood. After returning home from his travels and reflecting on his photos and footage, the artist follows an intuitive process by which he transforms memories into physical forms.
Christianity is embedded in Foster’s culture and his day to day life. By using social media to maintain connections from his travels, and with family back home, his algorithm pushes faith-based messaging, from daily affirmations, to clickbait headlines of church scandals, to AI videos of pastors performing miracles. Spiritual Technology explores ways that Foster’s digital consumption activates new approaches to cultural storytelling.
