Contested Bodies

Matthew P. Shelton and Nikolai M. Noel

December 2, 2016 – January 20, 2017

Images courtesy of the artist and Stacey Evans Photography.

A collaboration between Charlottesville artist Matthew P. Shelton and Trinidadian artist Nikolai M. Noel examines how race, privilege, and oppression relate to economics and opportunity—past and present.

Shelton and Noel localize the work in their genealogy—Shelton is descended from Confederate soldiers and Noel is biracial and Caribbean. They have developed this interdisciplinary work since attending Virginia Commonwealth University’s MFA program together.