Sanford Biggers: Codeswitch

by Andrea Andersson (Editor), Antonio Sergio Bessa (Editor), Greg Tate (Contributor), Jacqueline Tobin (Contributor), Raymond Dobard (Contributor), Mia Kang (Contributor), John Jennings (Contributor), David Brame (Contributor) “What I want to do is code-switch. To have there be layers of history and politics, but also this heady, arty stuff—inside jokes, black humor—that you might have to take a while to research if you want to really get it.”—Sanford BiggersSanford Biggers (b. 1970) is a Harlem-based artist working in various media including painting, sculpture, video, and performance. He describes his practice as “code-switching”—mixing disparate elements to create layers of meaning—to account for his wide-ranging interests. This catalogue focuses on a series of repurposed quilts (many made in the 19th century) that embodies this interest in mixture. Informed by the significance of quilts to the Underground Railroad, Biggers transforms the quilts into new works using materials such