REBIRTH RENEWAL REWARD

Renowned artist Nari Ward gives Tatler a peek into his Harlem studio as he prepares for his solo exhibition in Seoul

- Aaina Bhargava

In the summer of 1996, Nari Ward was walking around Harlem; this wasn’t unusual for the artist, who wandered through the district on a daily basis, scavenging discarded objects to make art with. Except this time he was pushing a cart in which he placed a makeshift effigy made out of refuse—namely twisted plastic bags in various colours wrapped around empty bottles, enacting his first performance piece, Pushing Saviour.

The work was inspired by an existential query of sorts and prompted by a childhood memory. “I was thinking about how we create faith,” Ward tells Tatler. “I was thinking that some kind of energy or entity was pushing this form [the makeshift effigy], but really, I was pushing [it] myself. In a way, I was pushed into the Abyssinian Baptist Church.”

The Jamaican-born artist moved to the US aged 12; after living in Brooklyn for two years, his family moved to New Jersey. Growing up there, Ward’s parents would put him and his three older brothers on a bus to the Parsippany Baptist Church every Sunday, much to their teenage chagrin. “I think it was their way of taking a break from parenting for a couple of hours,” Ward recalls. “I dreaded it, but we would sneak snacks onto the bus and bond during those rides.”

Although Ward remains sceptical of organised religion, the experience of going to church contributed to shaping his spiritual curiosity. “We’re always thinking about something outside of ourselves to project our faith onto, especially in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. But instead of expecting Christ to save you, what if you saved yourself ? You might need reaffirmation of your strength through a belief in something, but it’s still you who has to do it for yourself,” says the artist, positing a self-empowered take on the idea of a saviour. “I wanted to think about faith as something that came back into you and was driven by your own agency.”