Dana Davenport, Box Braid Chandelier #4, 여름 훈녀 (yeoleum hunnyeo)-Hot Girl Summer, 2021, Steel, plastic beads, modeling clay, synthetic hair from Raisa Beauty Supply (Brooklyn, NY), 38” x 19”
LOS ANGELES
Dana Davenport: one hundred days
Sep 20 - Oct 12, 2025
Opening Reception: Sat, Sep 20, 2025
Tiger Strikes Asteroid LA is pleased to present Dana Davenport: one hundred days.
Dana Davenport’s new solo exhibition explores the significance of domestic spaces and the intricate elements and narratives that contribute to the creation of a home. This collection of sculptural works transforms ordinary domestic objects—including chandeliers, windows, and family photos—into powerful symbols of affirmation, guardianship, and protection, reflecting Davenport's personal journey of establishing a home for her new family.
Box Braid Chandeliers are a sculptural series crafted from synthetic braids, hair beads, and accessories sourced from local beauty supply stores, which are often owned by Korean Americans while servicing Black and Brown communities. These chandeliers serve as a proxy for her own body, reflecting on her experience navigating two cultural identities. The Window series, a photo collage-based work, combines personal family photos with found imagery from African beauty advertisements to photographs of everyday life in Korea during the 1900s. These collages are encased in wooden frames featuring Korean architectural motifs, creating a geometric pattern that simultaneously unifies and divides the images. Davenport's sculptural works intricately explore the intersections of her cultural identities and their role in defining a sense of self for herself and future generations.
Dana Davenport is a Korean and Black American interdisciplinary artist shifting between installation, sculpture, video, and performance. Within her practice, she addresses the complexities that surround interminority conflict as a foundation for envisioning her own and the collective futurity of Black and Asian peoples. Davenport utilizes synthetic hair as a proxy for her body to discuss the strained relationship between Black and Asian peoples, specifically in America. As a product overwhelmingly sold by Koreans to Black Americans, she considers the implications of the material as it sits on the beauty supply shelf and how it is activated in the hands of Black folks through love and labor.
photos by Gemma Lopez coming soon