My Barbarian
Oct 29, 2021–Feb 27, 2022
My Barbarian, The Case of the Stairs, LACMA, Los Angeles, 2008. Photograph © Alexandra Wyman
For two decades, the members of My Barbarian—Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon, and Alexandro Segade—have used performance to theatricalize social issues, adapting narratives from modern plays, historical texts, and mass media into structures for their performances.
On the occasion of their twentieth anniversary, My Barbarian will present a two-part survey of their work. One part will reimagine iconic shows representative of the trio's array of theatrical styles through a series of live performances. These will be complemented by an exhibition that traces the history of the group's work through video performances, documentary footage, as well as sculptures, paintings, drawings, masks, and puppets drawn from their extensive archive.
To celebrate My Barbarian's creative output, the Whitney has commissioned Rose Bird, which will be composed, directed, and performed by the trio. This performance for the camera will be created in homage to the first female chief justice of the California Supreme Court, Rose Bird, a controversial figure due to her opposition to the death penalty—a sentence she repeatedly overturned during her decade-long tenure. Working with a variety of texts, Rose Bird will reimagine scenes from her biography as a teleplay and appropriate the media reports that framed both her personal life and work.
My Barbarian is organized by Adrienne Edwards, Engell Speyer Family Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, with Mia Matthias, Curatorial Assistant.
My Barbarian is sponsored by
Generous support is provided by Judy Hart Angelo; the John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation; and the Whitney’s National Committee.
Support is also provided by the Marshall Weinberg Fund for Performance, endowed in honor of his parents, Anna and Harold Weinberg, who taught him the meaning of giving.
Audio guides
My Barbarian, The Case of the Stairs, LACMA, Los Angeles, 2008. Photograph © Alexandra Wyman
Find transcriptions of all works with sound.
Installation photography
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Installation view of My Barbarian (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 29, 2021–February 27, 2022). From left to right: Quick Change (Sailors to Mermaids), 2008/2021; Burning Flag, 2005. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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Installation view of My Barbarian (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 29, 2021–February 27, 2022). On projection screen: Quick Change (Sailors to Mermaids), 2008/2021. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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Installation view of My Barbarian (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 29, 2021–February 27, 2022). On projection screens: Shakuntala Du Bois, 2012. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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Installation view of My Barbarian (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 29, 2021–February 27, 2022). On projection screens: Excerpts from Double Agency, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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Installation view of My Barbarian (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 29, 2021–February 27, 2022). On projection screens: Post-Living Ante-Action Theater (PoLAAT), Performance and rehearsal documentation, 2008. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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Installation view of My Barbarian (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 29, 2021–February 27, 2022). On projection screens: Excerpts from Night Epi$ode, 2009, and Death Panel Discussion, 2009. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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Installation view of My Barbarian (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 29, 2021–February 27, 2022). On projection screens: Excerpts from Night Epi$ode, 2009, and Death Panel Discussion, 2009. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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Installation view of My Barbarian (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 29, 2021–February 27, 2022). On projection screens: Pagan Rights, 2006. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Exhibition Catalogue
My Barbarian catalogue cover
The first monographic publication on the art collective My Barbarian (Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon, and Alexandro Segade) offers new insights into the work of this singular group of performers. My Barbarian has used performance to theatricalize social issues, adapting narratives from modern plays, historical texts, and mass media; this volume accompanies a major retrospective celebrating the group’s twentieth anniversary.
An overview essay relates their work’s formal qualities to several historical moments over this span: the club era following September 11, 2001; postcolonial theater after the 2008 financial collapse; and political theater responding to the pressing issues of today. Other contributions read the collective’s output through a lens of queer and other critical theory, and contextualize it within the twenty-first-century experimental performance scene. A richly illustrated visual chronology features texts on each of My Barbarian’s past works written by the artists. Performances and video works are re-created using stills alongside photos, drawings, scripts, and personal materials drawn from the artists’ archives, many never previously published.
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