Candace Hunter: The Alien‐Nations and Sovereign States of Octavia E Butler

In The Alien‐Nations and Sovereign States of Octavia E Butler, Candace Hunter presents new works created with synthetic plants, remnants of a sustainable food experiment, a reading nook, and painted doors as imagined portals to other worlds to create what she describes as an “alien lush space.” The exhibition addresses the concepts of nationhood. Candace Hunter poses questions about who is other, and in what situations do we see people as other to ourselves? How do we become universal?

A highlight of the exhibition is the installation Lilith’s Journey, inspired by Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy (Lilith’s Brood), which features a sequence of female silhouettes interspersed with full-length distorting mirrors. The figure represents the matriarch and Lilith’s ability to lead and grow a new civilization, while the mirrors explore the relationship between the gaze and creating feelings of otherness. Comparing the Parable of the Sower to the Trump era and using Xenogenesis Trilogy (Lilith’s Brood) to explore what “alien” worlds might exist beyond America and its race relations today, Hunter’s exhibition creates a speculative space where multiple generations come together to envision a better future. For more information, please visit www.hydeparkart.org

Photo credit: Candace Hunter, Study for Lilith’s Journey, 2023, mixed media, dimensions variable. Photography by Tran Tran