Questions about Junia (or Junias), who is mentioned once in the New Testament by Saint Paul, have been contentious in Church history: Was this person a woman? An apostle? Palazeke’s video performance Junia (2015) is situated within the ambiguity of the answers to these questions. The artist wanders through a vacuous environment before being seemingly overwhelmed by an array of flashing colorful images of community and home videos that suggest memories and an audio track that insistently calls her name. Junia falls into the well of her gridded chamber and marks her own identity Stephanie Palazeke, Junia (still), 2015 into her surroundings: with the black design on her white dress now seen to be ink marks, she rolls back and forth, her body “drawing” on the floor. Palazeke (b. 1992, Schenectady, NY; lives and works in Schenectady, NY) completed her M.F.A. in 2017 at the University at Albany, Albany, NY. She is currently a K-12 educator in Niskayuna, NY.
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