Antwaun Sargent's Helmut Lang Exhibition Examines What It Means To Be a Cowboy
Reacting to the iconic 2004 “YOꓭWOƆ” shirt.
“Helmut Lang Seen by Antwaun Sargent: Cowboy” officially launched at the Hannah Traore Gallery during New York Fashion Week as a response to Helmut Lang’s FW23 collection.
In 2004, Helmut Lang printed the word “COWBOY” in reverse on the inside of a classic white cotton tee, seemingly suggesting that whoever wore it is in fact, a cowboy. Over the years, the narrative has been romanticized to take on different meanings far from the realities of the eighteenth-century cowboy. This evolution serves as the inspiration for Antwaun Sargent‘s latest exhibition which features seven artists including Turiya Adkins, Awol Erizku, American Artist, Devin B. Johnson, Justen Leroy, Daniel Obasi, and Quay Quinn Wolf. Nearly 20 years after the release of the now-infamous “YOꓭWOƆ” tee, the artists respond to their own ideas of the cowboy in a historical and contemporary context using different mediums involving image, sculpture, sound and paint. The show further explores ideas surrounding “The Great Migration, how Black cowboys challenge the traditional historical erasure, and the tropes of masculinity, community, and desire.”
The “YOꓭWOƆ” exhibition will be open to the public through February 23. A number of limited-edition tees and a magazine are available online and at the gallery. More details can be found here.
Hannah Traore Gallery
150 Orchard Street
New York, N.Y. 10002
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