“WHERE DID YOUR CHRIST COME FROM?” is the second solo exhibition of
Pittsburgh-based artist and muralist, Kamara Townes, known professionally as Wavy
Wednesday. Presented as part of the fulfillment of Townes’ Master of Fine Arts degree
at West Virginia University, the exhibition provides visitors with a colorful lens on
intersectional feminism while navigating challenging spaces in connection with black
girlhood.

Her subject matter references popular culture as a means of contemporary commentary
on race, womanism, and identity. Referencing popular culture and painted in an
Afrofuturist style with a disarming humor, Townes’ autobiographical works serve as a
rigorous commentary of Black identity, depicting representations that express an
emotional range of being adequately rebellious to thoroughly, politically engaged and
enraged.

Featured are paintings, sculpture, and installations that incorporate collage elements,
where she has approached each work through an intuitive art making practice. Townes’
process of layering vibrant colors, glitter, and resin is meant to mirror the complex
nature of Black women’s oneness and the experience of intersectional feminism. By
painting directly onto raw wood surfaces, she references the aesthetics and graphic
style of street art culture, conveying the sense of its power by figuratively and literally
taking up space. She calls attention to the act of physical construction and the social
construction of the unapologetic spirit of Black women.

Wavy Wednesday: “WHERE DID YOUR CHRIST COME FROM?” is presented by the
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Special thanks to Christiane Dolores, Gloria Negrete-Lopez,
Marie Cochran, Atiya Jones and BOOM Concepts. Additional thanks to to lead art
handler Kennedy Deen, and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Visual Arts staff George Dun,
Chris Korch, Josh Rievel, and Davine Byon.