Olympic Vol. 1 Zine

Olympic Vol.1 is a meditation on Black American family life, training, and selfhood. It draws on theories of self-determination through control of the body and training as a covert language for solidarity. Pictured in the work are Black Run clubs, martial artists, athletes and other active spaces. It juxtaposes pop culture references, YouTube videos, and artist-produced collages drawn from found photos. 

Khari Johnson-Ricks is an artist and athlete working across media, including works on paper, zines, and black vernacular dance. The work is deeply concerned with acts of maintenance, training, and care. Through black movement traditions and queer fellowship, Johnson-Ricks hopes to find practices of sublimation that might draw him and the people in his community into closer, more fun, and freer relationships with one another. Johnson-Ricks is also deeply invested in preserving black dance lineages and futures as a covert language for solidarity, collective grief, and catharsis.