Kim Dacres transforms discarded auto and bicycle rubber into sculptural portraits that celebrate Black hairstyles and community. Her new exhibition "Lost on a Two Way Street" at Charles Moffett in New York features busts with braided buns and gear-like crowns, alongside flat wall works evoking Victorian cameos. The show also includes reimagined U.S. flags with Black and brown figures, addressing the current political climate and the gap between national symbols and lived reality.
The exhibition matters because Dacres elevates waste materials into defiant, care-centered art that honors her community while critiquing systemic failures. Her work connects personal resilience—the labor of maintaining appearances—to broader social commentary, making visible the experiences of Black and brown individuals through a medium that transforms the discarded into the precious.