YANNICK LOWERY

Interdisciplinary artist exploring memory, place, and cultural narrative through archival imagery and material-based practices.

Yannick Lowery (He/Him) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Philadelphia, originally from New York City. Drawing from the cultural and visual histories of both cities, his work explores memory, identity, and narrative through a range of mediums including collage, photography, animation, and sculpture.

Using archival imagery alongside his own photographic work, Lowery constructs layered visual compositions that invite reflection and reinterpretation. His practice often incorporates illustrated proverbs, historical references, and speculative elements that guide viewers through spaces of cultural introspection and imaginative storytelling.

Through material exploration and world-building, his work creates entry points into conversations about history, place, and the ways personal and collective memory continue to shape contemporary experience.

Project Description
During his residency, Yannick Lowery will continue developing his ongoing project of “unmapping” The Black Bottom through interviews with community members who are willing to share personal histories of the neighborhood.

These conversations will focus on lived experience, including schools, churches, gathering spaces, and everyday life, building a collective archive of memory rooted in place.

These oral histories will serve as both documentation and creative source material. Lowery will translate these narratives into visual works using handmade paper, collage, and cyanotype processes, bringing memory into material form.

The residency will also include opportunities for public participation through storytelling workshops and one-on-one interviews, creating space for community members to contribute directly to the archive. Additional workshops will invite participants to imagine “The Black Bottom” through visual interpretation, connecting past, present, and future narratives.

At its core, the project centers memory as both inheritance and responsibility, offering counter-narratives of Black life while preserving stories that continue to shape the cultural identity of the neighborhood.