Jan 30

Jan 30 Exhibition Review: David Alekhuogie: I made this for you

David Alekhuogie. *Borrowed Recipe 1, 2021*. Archival pigment print, 32 x 40 in. Courtesy of the artist and Assembly Gallery.

Written by Emma Ashley

Copyedited by Chloë Rain

Photo Edited by Haley Winchell

In his new exhibition I made this for you, Los Angeles-based artist David Alekhuogie examines the personal and historical significance of soul food in America. The artist creates portraits of various meals local to the southern United States. Whether it be an assemblage of vegetables like okra, corn, and tomatoes printed on fabric and hung in folds; disassembled fried chicken on a background of colorful patterned textiles; or an aged cookbook handed down from his mother, Alekhuogie gives a personality and brightness to his beloved cuisine.

David Alekhuogie. *Mom’s Cookbook, 2021*. Archival pigment print, 32 x 40 in. Courtesy of the artist and Assembly Gallery.

Alekhuogie’s images center the personal and emotional aspects of the cuisine he grew up with, rather than focusing on the historical role it has played in American cuisine. The artist primarily wants to explore history through the lens of familial tradition: the art of food passed down through generations as lessons in storytelling and caregiving. In many of these images, the faces of the artist’s family members fold into the backdrop. Warm light and bright, patchwork colors define the photographs, and worn-down, handwritten recipes imbue the images with comfort and belonging. The combination of these elements produce a deeply emotional feeling of careful, loving creation – the creation of a meal as well as that of a family history.

David Alekhuogie. *Obama special with 2 sides, 2017.* Archival pigment print, 32 x 40 in. Courtesy of the artist and Assembly Gallery.

In his photograph Obama special with 2 sides, 2017, Alekhuogie depicts a restaurant table after a meal, empty save for dirty dishes. There are leftover plates of chicken & waffles, cups of coffee, and small glasses of syrup scattered over the tabletop. This photograph serves as an afterimage of simple extravagance, a splendid meal that has filled both the hearts and stomachs of those present, as well as, somehow, the viewer. Those empty plates satisfy us, and communicate a certain contentment that we are all familiar with – the fullness of oneself after a meal with loved ones, especially a meal that holds significance to us. The viewer imagines that this group of people, maybe family, maybe friends, come to this restaurant often and get the same thing each time: the Obama special with 2 sides. Tradition and togetherness: that is the heart of Alekhuogie’s project.

In taking such care to create these works of art, Alekhuogie mirrors the love that goes into cooking for one’s family. Both art forms offer opportunities for connection that transcends language, culture, gender, or age, and are therefore powerful tools in such a polarized society as the one we live in today. Alekhuogie’s work has a timelessness that ensures its own influence for generations to come, as the fight to close the chasm of difference and reunite our divided world continues.