Performance, 2013

In this three-ringed spectacle, Pinder transformed the Defibrillator gallery in Chicago into a playground for the body and mind. In three distinct heroic exercises, he embodied the role of the most contemporary of black cultural tropes, the “Magical Negro.” In an exchange with the audience, he demonstrated durational physical actions to explore the darker side of this complex stereotype. Accompanied by music and narration, this performance challenged the viewer to understand how both absurd and rational actions can be imbued with racial meaning as they relate to the black body.