American Soil

Dahveed Wilkins

November 06 - January 16, 2027

Opening Reception:

Friday, November 6, 5:00-7:00 PM Free

Artist Talk

Friday, November 6, 6:00 PM Free

American Soil presents a series of self-portraits and landscapes Dahveed Wilkins created in Central New York while in residence at Light Work in the spring of 2026. The images are a response to the artist's internal sense of displacement versus self-determination, something Wilkins saw mirrored in the land and history of the city of Syracuse. Once known as the Great Central Depot of the Underground Railroad, Syracuse was a city that meant freedom to Black Americans; only two generations on, those same families who arrived here have been pushed out of the neighborhoods and communities they created, displaced by the construction of freeways for largely white commuters.

The story was only too familiar to this Baltimore-based artist. Wilkins came to Syracuse with his own feelings of freedom that were gradually overtaken by a sense of emotional dislocation and began making photographs that conceptually explored these conflicting sensations. Self-portraits became a way of cataloging and engaging with both himself and the land. The artist’s performance and staging explores the parallels between personal and generational issues, local and national histories, and the ideas of Black American futures.

Based between his hometown of Baltimore, Md and New York, NY, Dahveed Wilkins is an artist and documentarian with a darkroom-based practice. Selected exhibitions include Scout Art Fair, Baltimore, MD; Kid Super Gallery, New York, NY and Light Work, Syracuse, NY. Wilkins’s work has been featured Bias Cut Magazine and Black is Magazine and he has received fellowships and residencies from Photoworks Foundation, Woodstock, NY and Light Work, Syracuse, NY.