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“When you have cancer, you’re supposed to die. With modern technology, you’re basically being resurrected. When I was a kid, I had cancer, and when I was in the hospital, I played Final Fantasy. Those were my escapisms during such a deep period of trauma, I can see that being my natural lexicon as a creator. Maybe I’ve been skeptical of my own mortality my whole life, and I’ve been making things to make myself witness these objects and say that I’m still here.” — Jacolby Satterwhite

As part of our ongoing Black History Month programming, today we are sharing the work of the young artist Jacolby Satterwhite (b. 1986, Columbia, South Carolina), who works in a heady and vibrant mix of art and technology, combining elements of 3D animation, performance, sculpture, and installation. Coming off of two highly acclaimed exhibitions this past winter – Room for Living at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, and You’re at home at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn – Satterwhite was recently the focus of Art21’s New York Close Up series.

From Art21:

Satterwhite’s videos, sculptures, and 3D animations draw from the visual language of video games and digital technology to create vibrant, swirling worlds that are densely populated with dancing figures, fantastical vehicles, and everyday consumer products. Shown installing his exhibition You’re at home at Pioneer Works, Satterwhite discusses how his solo process has grown dramatically in scale and evolved to include the production of a music album. Inspired by his mother’s own amateur songwriting, the album is performed and installed alongside his sculptures and video work in the exhibition. You’re at home, along with his simultaneous show at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, mark the artist’s largest and most ambitious exhibitions to date. While the scope of these shows has allowed Satterwhite to open up his process to a team of collaborators, the resulting work remains deeply personal and meticulously realized. “Art became a form of escapism for me to reroute my personal traumas. But now I think I’m trying to pursue something more present… and trying to get to the core of who I am.”