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The Ruby is a catalyst for creativity and a home for making art at Duke.
Date & Time
September 24, 2021October 22, 2021
Venue
Gallery Room 235 at The Rubenstein Arts Center
2020 Campus Dr
Durham, NC 27708 United States
Description

A Fall From Grace is a multimedia project by Zaire McPhearson, MFA EDA ’20, that tells the story of single Black women and their children involved in a cult from the mid-1970s through the early 2000s. Told through the voices of now elderly women who were part of a Charismatic Movement known as “The Prayer Band,” A Fall From Grace is a complex layering of stories that illustrates the lives of the remaining women who are willing to tell their stories and their long recovery back to their faith. McPhearson uses sculpture, stained glass, and photography to depict this journey.

A sculpture in McPhearson's “A Fall From Grace,” part of “The Holy Trinity” series.
Two of the sisters portrayed as biblical figures Miriam and Sarah.

About the Artist

Zaire McPhearson received her B.A. from South Carolina State University (Orangeburg, SC) and received her Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Arts from Duke University (Durham, NC). She is a multidisciplinary artist who works across various mediums and platforms. Her strong upbringing in the church led her to the exploration of African American entities through religion and faith. Through her experiences in church, she is able to navigate and explore religion through many controversial topics. She creates artwork that touches on the divine spiritual being and challenges the narrative of traditional biblical figures. She considers her work a love letter to black womanhood.

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