K. Yoland, Invisible Angels, 2009 (2)

K. Yoland devises creative projects that shine a spotlight on individuals and groups who are disenfranchised by perpetuated systems of power. In Yoland’s “Invisible Angels” series, the artist explores a ‘built-to-fail’ public housing facility in London before its demolition to make way for luxury housing. To complete these artworks, which have previously materialized as performance, text, installation, video, and photography, Yoland often attempts to integrate herself into the various communities she sets out to represent. To create "Invisible Angels," the artist collaborated with young, Black residents of this London neighborhood and constructed garments for them to wear out of “domestic temporary materials,” as Yoland describes them: bin liners, tin foil, cling film, newspapers, and shopping bags. Through poses from fashion photography and enigmatic facial expressions, the subjects of “Invisible Angels” exhibit a certain air of ease, confidence, and dignity amidst an environment that may be emotionally and physically distressing. These individuals are not presented as victims of cut-throat social and economic competition, which perpetually punishes those in marginalized socioeconomic brackets. Instead, in a neighborhood permeated by gentrification, Yoland captures a soft expression of human agency.

Grace DeWitt and Damon King
Student Committee Selection 2016–2017

More from the series “Invisible Angels”: