Cole M James
Decision Fatigue…As someone once mentioned…a first world problem…I began to think…I am a 1st world citizen…A Black, Queer, Female American 1st world citizen.
I am not making decisions about $100 yoga pants or thread count specifics.
I am deciding on weather or not to ingest a substance that will fill my body for a few days with organic goodness or ingest a substance filled with toxic chemicals, rodent fecal matter and preservatives that will feed my body for weeks.
I am deciding to sacrifice my time and energy for a meal that will fill me with joy but cost me in hunger.
In 2011 the New York Times Published an article outlining several studies on Decision Fatigue. None of which adequately addressed the complexities of decision making for people navigating in spaces of homophobia, patriarchy and racism simultaneously.
Manchego takes you though my logic as I make one decision. Within this decision I consider how…
I respond to or shoulder racist policies and practices
I respond to or shoulder homophobic policies and practices
I respond to and shoulder patriarchal policies and practices
This pathway of thought process happens daily…or even hourly and sometimes by the minuet.
By the end of the day, I find my self standing at the grocery store with the unshakable desire for something delicious that is made of natural things that will not cause my body to reject itself.
I am not making decisions about $100 yoga pants or thread count specifics.
I am deciding on weather or not to ingest a substance that will fill my body for a few days with organic goodness or ingest a substance filled with toxic chemicals, rodent fecal matter and preservatives that will feed my body for weeks.
I am deciding to sacrifice my time and energy for a meal that will fill me with joy but cost me in hunger.
In 2011 the New York Times Published an article outlining several studies on Decision Fatigue. None of which adequately addressed the complexities of decision making for people navigating in spaces of homophobia, patriarchy and racism simultaneously.
Manchego takes you though my logic as I make one decision. Within this decision I consider how…
I respond to or shoulder racist policies and practices
I respond to or shoulder homophobic policies and practices
I respond to and shoulder patriarchal policies and practices
This pathway of thought process happens daily…or even hourly and sometimes by the minuet.
By the end of the day, I find my self standing at the grocery store with the unshakable desire for something delicious that is made of natural things that will not cause my body to reject itself.
Manchego is a work with 3 lives. The first is here in this digitally created space. My ideal location for Machego is a private space in which one could enjoy an endless amount of cheese. Within this space along the back wall there are two cases of cheese selections for everyone to enjoy. Between the cases, a video monitor plays Manchego Cheese. In the center of the room a carefully crafted table of cheese stands with a very special guest taking the first bite.
The work of Cole M James is that of a negotiator, navigating the African Diaspora, circling the expanse of queerness and fumbling through womanhood. Her work is composed of various manifestations of the intersections between digital production and the analog collections of lived experiences. She received a MFA from Claremont Graduate University and exhibits her work in Los Angeles, New York, Miami and South Korea. James attended Claremont Graduate University. She was awarded the Alfred B. Friedman Grant, Walker Parker Artist Fellowship, and Mignon Schweitzer Award. CM James works and lives in Los Angeles CA.
https://sites.google.com/site/portfoliocolejamesart/colejamesart.com
https://sites.google.com/site/portfoliocolejamesart/colejamesart.com