Opening today in Soho through the weekend, “The HeLa Project” is multi-sensory experience that merges the art and science of Henrietta Lacks.
It’s not often science and art intersect so elegantly as it does with “The HeLa Project”. This is one of the most compelling multi-discipline arts exhibit to launch in recent memory, tapping every approach and every skill, and some of the finest artists such as award-winning Nadir Nelson (perhaps most known for Drake’s “Nothing Was the Same” album cover). “The HeLa Project” is a sprawling effort to explore and celebrate Henrietta Lacks, the woman. Her contribution to science is improbable and extraordinary- her cancerous cells have opened an entire new approach to science, as they are immortal, replicating indefinitely, known to take over other cells, but contain properties that have proven essential in furthering understanding of the human body and harnessing the precarious nature of cells. Her legendary status has been long-cemented in the context of science, but she is finally being explored in art, thanks to HBO and Curator Lewis Long of Long Gallery Harlem.
The opening “The HeLa Project” event was private and offered a close look at the inspiring works, including a truly exceptional portrait of Lacks by Kadir Nelson. The artistic merit of this work is undeniable. Nelson’s sensitivity to scale (the work depicts Lacks as if she were standing before in real life) in contrast to the microscopic nature of cells brings a stunning humanity to Lacks, not ever present before. The portrait presents Lacks literally at human scale, she is real, she is there, an honesty, a departure from the conceptual and stratified understanding of Lacks that dominates discussion. She clutches a bible, she is smiling in a sun dress, she is unknowing, she is pleasant. This visual counters the deconstructed quality of cell study with grace and persuasion. There is something royal about her presence, something timeless is contained in her soft eyes.
This work is joined by an original poem by Saul Williams. Other works include that by Derrick Adams, Zoe Buckman, Madeleine Hunt Ehrlich, Doreen Garner (which features a golden skull and a small tube containing what is intended to her very cells). The product of these elements, plus an educational, sculptural installation about the HeLa cells, all converge in a way that taps every corner of the mind, the thoughtful to the practical, exploring ideas such as being a woman, and strength of being a black woman. In the words of songwriter and artist Jazmine Sullivan, “This is very personal to me. As black woman, we may feel like we are passed over or ignored, but here, look at what is contained within us.”
Multi-market “The HeLa Project” will run April 7th – April 9th in SoHo, New York (465 W. Broadway, Fri – Sat, 11am – 7pm, Sun 12pm – 5pm). If you’re not around to see the project in NYC, “The HeLa Project” will be making additional stops in Atlanta, GA on April 13th – April 16th at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and finally in Washington, DC at the National Museum of African-American History & Culture.
Moreover, be sure to explore the HBO documentary, HBO Films’ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, directed by George C. Wolfe, from a screenplay by Peter Landesman and Alexander Woo and Wolfe. This film will debut on HBO on Saturday, April 22nd. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks (Winfrey), the film chronicles her search to learn about the mother she never knew and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks’ cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs. It’s the final element in this story that keeps going, literally.
“The HeLa Project”
465 W. Broadway
Fri – Sat, 11am – 7pm
Sun 12pm – 5pm
