Birthday Greetings Renee Cox
🎂Renee Cox, born October 16, 1960, is a Jamaican-American artist, photographer and activist. Renee was born in Colgate, Jamaica and raised in Scarsdale, New York. Often positioning herself as the controversial subject, her photos make bold statements that raise consciousness to either celebrate a thing or to effect change. Federico Fellini said, “All Art is autobiographical…” In 1998, Cox’s first NY gallery solo show included The Liberation of Lady J and UB. It featured Renee as Reja, a stereotype destroying, super she-roe, wearing thigh-high black boots and a form-fitting leotard in the colors of Jamaica’s flag, leading Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben to freedom from their boxes.
Yo Mama’s Last Supper reimagines Da Vinci’s Last Supper. It features Renee as a naked Jesus surrounded by twelve disciples; eleven black and one white Judas. Displayed at the Brooklyn Museum in 2001, it enraged many Catholics and inspired Mayor Guiliani to try to set “decency standards” that threatened institutions receiving public funds from exhibiting this type of art. Renee Cox said, “My main concern is the deconstruction of stereotypes and the empowerment of women… (The) main inspiration for my work comes from my life experiences…” Autobiographical, and so it goes. David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons