notes towards becoming a spill is a break sweating in blues spilling truths erecting sites of reconciliation where Black men’s expressions become revised to stretch past the margins of the American consciousness, or where Black men’s truths trickle to elicit the process of becoming.

In late 2018 Shikeith joined Long Road Projects to conduct the first portion of a multi-visit residency exploring the southern United States and lore of Florida blues. In the second On-Site activation in partnership with Atlanta Contemporary, Long Road Projects has chosen to present a site-specific installation of Shikeith’s experimental work. In “notes towards becoming a spill” Shikeith advances his constructions of “blue spaces” that explore the psychological states of contemporary black men. Shikeith’s specific use of Haint Blue within this and other activations comprise a larger constellation of site-specific works spanning the United States, references its deep-rooted history from the Gullah in South Carolina and Georgia. Created from indigo, one of the common crops of the American South, the Gullah originated the color as a spiritual marker in their homes. Within the installation, Shikeith combines elements such as soil, mud, haint-blue paint, and audio recordings of black men spilling truths about themselves to cultivate a site of reconciliation that is rooted in a black ancestral remedy and re-scription of legible black masculinities.

This sound-based installation is presented by Atlanta Contemporary in conjunction with its On-Site program and is curated by Aaron Levi Garvey and Stevie Covart Garvey of Long Road Projects.