“No Bicycle Parking” by Raphael Xavier
March 21-22nd | 12pm – 8pm | FREE Admission
Photographed over a ten year period, Raphael Xavier’s images of more than 400 abandoned and stripped bikes create a silent tableau of loss and mourning from cities around the world.
Many of the bikes were photographed in Philadelphia, where Xavier lives and works. Found and photographed by chance, it was impossible for the artist to learn how and why the bicycles were left behind and never recovered.
Raphael Xavier will record and collect hand-written stories from owners of lost or stripped bikes during the exhibit. Bike owners can also send their stories to the artist by email.
Xavier says, “I want to find the owners of the stripped chrome horses who thought they would never see their bikes again. This is a sort of viewing; a celebration or service to put all those unanswered questions to rest, so the bike owners can know that the remains of those bikes are beautifully captured, just as when they first laid eyes on them in a Philly store window.”
Stories from owners of abandoned bikes may be selected for inclusion in the upcoming printed, large-format art volume of Raphael Xavier’s abandoned bicycle art photographs.
About the artist:
Raphael Xavier is an award-winning performing artist, documentary filmmaker and photographer from Wilmington, Delaware. Many of the abandoned bicycles in “No Bicycle Parking” were photographed in cities visited during tours made for the artist’s professional dance career. A principal performer with the world-renowned dance company Rennie Harris Puremovement, Xavier also writes, choreographs and performs solo work and is currently developing a major piece for the stage. One of his shows, The Unofficial Guide to Audience Watching Performance, is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts, includes consultation and direction by Ralph Lemon and features poet Leigh Nelson. Xavier is a Pennsylvania Fellow of the Arts in Folk and Traditional forms and has been funded by the Independence Foundation and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. His photography has been featured in print publications such as Bike Magazine, Vibe, Blaze and Rap Pages, and was exhibited at the Sweeney Art Gallery’s Re:Cycle–Bike Culture in Southern California exhibit at the University of California, Riverside. For more information, visit http://www.raphaelxavier.com.
