White Noise

a solo exhibition by Kerry Skarbakka

January 19 – March 9, 2019

Opening Reception
January 19, 6 – 9 PM

For the past twenty years, my art has met at the intersection of studio arts, performance, and constructed photography. The core of my work explores the nature of existence through performative physical acts and expanded roles of identity. Within this context of reaction to the vulnerabilities of the human condition, the agency of my body naturally carries male/masculine connotations within representations of frustration, anger, and the loss of control. White Noise, takes this subtext a step further. Initiated after the birth of my son in 2015, my concern for his future advocated for a more decisive direction by centering on the crisis of masculinity and discord emanating directly from the white male community.

Upset at political correctness, immigration, the loss of jobs and a way of life, angry white men have forcibly attempted to reshape the socio-political landscape. Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, White Noise follows the life and eventual downward spiral of one particular white man…me. His story is situated upon my story that began with growing up in an authoritarian Evangelical household on a small farm outside Pulaski, Tennessee (the birthplace of the KKK) and eventually enlisting in the US Army. Over the years, I’ve put in a painstaking amount of work into overcoming my conservative upbringing and religious encoding. However, an alternate narrative could have emerged, another reality, another portrait; that of an angry white man, driven by the tenets of hate, misogyny and bigotry…pushed to the edge.

Grounding the work in my own beginnings is necessary for context. It offers a place to enter larger conversations of masculinity, race, identity, and the ongoing debate of nature versus nurture. It drives attention to certain forms of destructive messaging and deep-seated cultural influences that aid in creating white toxicity. It suggests that angry white men are a class within whiteness. However, they are not born. They are bred, fashioned by enculturation, often supported by religious dogma and motivated by fear. By projecting their innermost dialogue and insecurities onto the other, they succeed only to protect themselves through misinformation, aggression and control.

While it can be argued that the resentments within the angry white male community largely originate from a distrust of government and social reactions to the decline of white culture, the tricky waters of whiteness, masculinity, and identity are delicate subjects to navigate through a single visual discussion of an angry white male. By design, this work rides the fine line between interpretation and perspective during a time when nationalism and religious extremism are on the rise on a global scale. My intent is to provoke, to push the conversation, and to bring all sides to the table.

—Kerry Skarbakka, 2019