Photo Documentation: Alan Dimmick
WAIT A MINUTE?!!
GLASGOW PRINT STUDIO
Exhibition Runs: 04 April - 31 May 2025
Glasgow Print Studio presents a solo exhibition of work by Christian Noelle Charles.
Born and raised in Syracuse, New York, Charles became deeply aware of how her identity was perceived across different environments. These formative experiences shaped a nuanced understanding of intersectionality that continues to inform her work. Engaging with themes of representation and belonging, she creates art that not only celebrates Black joy but also challenges the narratives that shape perceptions of Blackness, prompting a deeper reflection from assumptions and dominant cultural frameworks.
Charles has lived and worked in Glasgow for the last decade, where the city’s vibrant and growing Black community has profoundly influenced her creative perspective; the African and Caribbean diaspora in Scotland has offered her an opportunity to witness the power of cultural resilience and collective solidarity. By drawing from her lived experiences her practice reflects a dialogue between personal and communal identity, bridging geographies and histories.
WAIT A MINUTE?!!, poses the fundamental question: "When did you reach your place of solitude?". Through a series of performances and a collection of self-portraiture developed over the past two years, the exhibition explores the delicate tension between isolation and solitude, examining how these experiences shape and inform the multifaceted understanding of being a Black woman today.
Charles’s work is rooted in an interdisciplinary approach, with screenprinting at the heart of her practice. She is drawn to the medium’s inherent possibilities for layering and variation, allowing her to develop intricate visual languages that convey the complexity of identity.
Starting with a single image, she often creates numerous expressive iterations, each distinct yet connected, much like the diverse yet interconnected experiences of the Black Millennial perspective. This process, as seen in works such as “Reaching Hands” becomes a metaphor for individuality within a community and opportunity, emphasizing the importance of every unique voice within a collective narrative. The vivid colors and dynamic forms in her screenprints are emblematic of the whimsical and empowering nature of her work, which seeks to reflect and remind that Black identities are unapologetically authentic.
The incorporation of music and performance reflects Charles’s belief in the transformative power of Black cultural expression, offering a space where stories are not only seen but also felt.
This exhibition navigates themes of validation, intimacy, and acceptance, documenting the evolving relationship with the self and how solitude facilitates both self-affirmation and self-interrogation. In an era defined by instant communication and digital immediacy, solitude can be both a refuge and a confrontation—a space for profound processing, unraveling, and rebuilding and the rest we anticipate but don’t always receive.
At the heart of the exhibition, an intimate installation recreates the essence of a bedroom—a personal sanctuary where solitude and safety is most deeply felt. Found objects, scattered furniture, and layered prints lean against the walls, mimicking the impulsive, chaotic energy of adolescence. Viewers are invited to sit with their own experiences of solitude, where comfort and restlessness coexist.
The bedroom, as a transitional space, holds remnants of the past—not as nostalgia, but as a reminder of a time when decisions felt infinite and consequence was a distant thought.
Screenprints of phones, polaroids and the ellipsis indicating that someone is typing invoke the sense of self love but also surveillance - who is watching who, who is communicating with who - and asks the audience to consider their personal history and archive.
The room is shielded by screenprinted curtains, handwriting reading “Say Her Name” memorialising Charles’ contemporary - acknowledging the 5 year passing of Breonna Taylor, the 26 year old black woman murdered by police whilst in bed during a so-called ‘no-knock’ raid, underscoring the tension between rest and dangerous vulnerability, the erosion of safety in a place where we are our most soft.
Through prints, self-portraits, and immersive installations, WAIT A MINUTE?!! invites viewers to engage with solitude not as absence, but as presence. It asks: How do we sit with ourselves? What do we find in the stillness? By stepping into this layered environment, viewers are encouraged to pause—to witness, to wait, and to embrace the complexities of solitude as an ongoing journey.
Charles’ artistic philosophy is deeply informed by her commitment to fostering spaces for dialogue and reflection, often converging at the intersection of personal memory, cultural heritage, and popular culture, drawing connections between intimate experiences and broader societal issues. Through her art, she seeks to build bridges between communities, creating opportunities for understanding and solidarity.
By celebrating individuality within collective experience, Charles’ practice underscores the beauty of authenticity and the strength found in connection. Her vibrant visual storytelling leaves a lasting impact, inspiring viewers to embrace the fullness of their own identities while recognising the shared humanity that binds us all.
There will be live durational performances in the gallery on Saturday 19 April (1-5pm) and Saturday 31 May (1-5pm).
Music Samples by Matthew Arthur Willams & Nwanneka Osammor.
A Very Special Thank You to the Glasgow Print Studio Team: Claire Forsyth, Rosalind Lawless, Naomi Brown, Kerry Douglas, Finn O'Hare and Elvey Steadman. To Alberta Whittle, Creative Scotland, Sara MacIntyre, Hope Scott Trust, Print Clan, Arianna Mele,Tron Theatre, National Theatre Of Scotland, Michael Clarence, The Work Room, Craigmillar Now, Sandra George, Rosina Bonsu, Zephyr Liddell, Project X, Rhea Lewis, Mele Broomes, Rhea Lewis, Carine Barbinia, Ashanti Harris, Carol Charles, Butch Charles, Caroline Charles, Merrill Charles, Carrie Dandridge, Lance Dandridge, Jessica Tipton, Koy Adams.
