Sam's Kitchen
THEME: THE CULTURE
Juniper
Jones
JUNIPER JONES
Sam's Kitchen
THEME: THE CULTURE
JUNIPER JONES
Sam's Kitchen
THEME: THE CULTURE
CAPITOL PARK, detroit
june 2024
With ‘Sam’s Kitchen’, I invite you to experience what I experienced as a child. It shares a visceral rhythm born of the creativity of men like my father who opened his home and cabaret halls across Detroit to make space for the souls of his community to find expression.
As you follow the flow that my eye would take across the house you’ll see my father embrace my grandfather, while balancing a plate of food. Beside them a couple fluidly connect with dance; just as a card game reaches a climactic conclusion. The tiled linoleum floor is an imprint of the cabaret halls of Detroit and the games and tension that is the foundation of a family coming together. You see my child’s touch in the crayon scribbles, my childlike sense that life is complicated in the occasional drippage of paint.
This work was important to me because it honors a time in which creativity, soul and rhythm all came together to create a sacred moment of Black collectivity. I wanted to do this for two reasons:
The first is the importance of telling the stories of our lives and personal histories. They mark all of us and show up in who we are, so let us tell those stories in their full color and complexity. What can we share that will make us good ancestors to the future?
And the second is that I wanted to celebrate Black collectivity and kinship. Our community, fellowship and creation of sacred spaces cultivated my creative soul - and by uplifting it I can honor it and show the joy that is possible through Black collectivity.
I hope that in the fluidity and abstraction of the image you see an experience of collectivity of your own, of people you know and love, of your community. I hope it inspires you to think that the energy of Sam’s Kitchen is an energy and a joy we can all choose to create for ourselves and each other, always.
the artist's inspiration
Welcome to my father’s kitchen - Sam’s Kitchen! a place of overflowing energy, joy and movement. My father was a catering chef and growing up and the kitchen was the beating heart of our house. I remember my granddad making grits and oatmeal; Mom making lunch; and Dad making pork chops and greens. But Sam’s Kitchen was not just a place to feed your stomach - it was a place to feed your soul: a salon to wash your hair; an arena for discussion; a stage for your self-expression.
When I thought about the theme of The Culture, I thought about how my father created so much beautiful collective space. As a child, I was able to witness and participate in Black joy and fulfilment. My father would throw his arm around a loved one while balancing a hot plate with the other, as an assortment of “grown folk” erupted into dance, punctuated by the rhythmic thwack of playing cards hitting the dining room table.
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
jupiter jones
Juniper is a gender-fluid and queer artist originally from Detroit. Their work is a vibrant homage to Black embodiment, community and rhythmic movement. Inspired by the flowing waters of the Detroit River, Juniper’s art explores fluidity, a theme deeply intertwined with their upbringing and identity.
With fluidity as the defining feature, their practice delves into the unconventional or ‘queer’ movement present in all things. Using painting, drawing, video, photography, sculpture and social practice, Juniper transforms how people engage with archival information – so that the concept of fluidity is in the foreground.
Their work is an invitation to viewers to question the boundaries of identity, history and perception and enter a dialogue between the past, present and future.
For everyone. For you. By all of us. Join us.
Juniper's "If I Could Tell You Just One Thing..."
I pass on a piece of advice I once received from an elder in a vulnerable moment in my life: “There are so many people who can’t wait to meet you.” You have to keep going, because they can’t wait to meet you and once you meet them, horizons expand and joy can multiply.
explore the theme
For everyone. For you.
By all of us. Join us.
PURPOSE
in our relationship with ourselves.
WORTHINESS
I am worthy of love dignity and respect.
AWARENESS
I know how I see the world and where it comes from.
BELIEF
I believe I have something valuable to offer.
PURPOSE
I know what inspires me and what I want to do.
