Corey De’Juan Sherrard Jr: Songbook for Black Constellations

The works shown in Songbook for Black Constellations connect the functionality of maps with the process of composing music. This method of generating cultural objects is informed by an ever-expanding system determining (at this point in time) color, tone, and notation. This system welcomes a human touch when working across mediums, and these pieces in particular intend to manifest dialogue concerning the strengthening of networks between black institutions geographically and objectively.

Corey De’Juan Sherrard Jr develops an expanding visual system informed by maps to generate cultural objects of various mediums. Working primarily in music and paintings, his works connect the proximity of cities determined by demographic and institutional data with composing sound. Through this system, he actualizes a political motif that answers to the deficit of radical black objectives in popular black music. These songs that are based off of said process are arranged to be embellished and reconstructed for live performances. Following his solo exhibition Songbook for Black Constellations, Corey continues to integrate visual components into his system, explore scale and arrange compositions to be performed within event-based programs.

Artist Bio
Corey De’Juan Sherrard Jr (born 1996, Houston, TX) engineers a developing system for composing songs and generating objects that respond to the deficit of black radical propaganda within a world culture. He began producing music in 2013 and, through undergrad, exploring different mediums/materials for design and artmaking. He graduated from the University of Houston with a BS in Digital Media and currently consults at the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Downtown Houston. Sherrard showed his solo exhibition Songbook for Black Constellations at Sanman Studios in 2023. He spins jazz at KTRU-LP 96.1 FM and occasionally produces design work for Los Angeles-based jazz label Minaret Records.