Whitney Biennial 2024: Even Better Than the Real Thing

Floor 6

Born 1989 in Groton, CT
Lives in Norfolk, VA

For the 2024 Biennial, JJJJJerome Ellis was invited to create a musical score in response to the sounds, artworks, and spaces of the fully installed exhibition. Ellis has remarked that “gratitude and appreciation is the score”—both the framed drawings and unframed thank-you notes serve as a dedication to the artists and echo components of their work. The formal fragmentation of the shapes and gestures within each thank-you note is rooted in the characteristic layering and remixing of dub music, which the artist credits as an influence through their Jamaican and Grenadian heritage. 

Ellis is a poet, composer, performer, and founder/creative lead of the collective People Who Stutter Create (with Jia Bin, Delicia Daniels, Conor Foran, and Kristel Kubart), whose contribution to the Biennial appears on the billboard across the street from the Whitney and is visible from the terraces as well as the southern end of the High Line. As part of this work, Ellis will be performing excerpts of the score in the galleries. Check the calendar for schedules and more information.