Slowed and Throwed: Records of the City Through Mutated Lenses is a two-part interdisciplinary exhibition orbiting around the legacy of the late Houston legend DJ Screw. Until his death in 2000, DJ Screw distorted songs by musical artists, creating “chopped and screwed” versions of the original by slowing tempo, reducing pitch, chopping lyrics, and layering freestyles by Houston-based rappers. Known for his signature stretched sound, he also displayed deft skill evident in his transitions, sampling choices, and beat juggling.
The exhibition features unconventional photography and new media created by strategies paralleling the musical methods of the innovative DJ. In their photo-adjacent practices, the participating artists appropriate, mash-up, collage, and mutate photographic inputs, in addition to slowing time. Slowed and Throwed contends that remixing “sampled” materials is a radical aesthetic act utilized by both artists and musicians. Through reconfigurations of sourced and original materials, the featured artists draw attention to inequities stemming from race, gender, and sexual orientation, suggesting new possibilities and alternative realities.
Serving as the physical and conceptual core of Slowed and Throwed is a nesting exhibition of DJ Screw archival materials. Placing the curated archive in dialogue with photo-based artworks demonstrates the resonances between DJ Screw’s creative process and those of the exhibiting artists. Displayed in a gallery built to mirror the edifice of the original location of Screwed Up Records & Tapes on Cullen Boulevard, the archival exhibition is activated by a musical playlist by E.S.G.
Featured Artists
B. Anele, Rabéa Ballin, Tay Butler, Jimmy Castillo, Jamal Cyrus, Ben DeSoto, DJ Screw, Robert Hodge, Shana Hoehn, Tomashi Jackson, Ann Johnson, Devin Kenny, Liss LaFleur, El Franco Lee II, Karen Navarro, Kristin Massa, Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud, Sondra Perry, and Charisse Pearlina Weston
Publication
The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication featuring commissioned essays from Big Bubb, Dr. Regina N. Bradley, E.S.G., Ciarán Finlayson, Maco Faniel, Julie Grob, Devin Kenny, Patricia Restrepo, Lance Scott Walker, and Will-Lean. The publication will contain full-color reproductions of artworks, installation views, an exhibition checklist, and reproductions of archival material. The catalogue is designed by Houston-based designer Yoon Kim
Support
Slowed and Throwed is made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
In the News
CAMH’s new show is screwed up—and that’s a good thing.
—Houston CityBook
The chopped and screwed turntable techniques of Houston legend DJ Screw didn’t just influence hip-hop sound.
—Houston Chronicle
FotoFest at CAMH gets Chopped and Screwed.
—PaperCity Magazine
Two decades after his death, DJ Screw lives on at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.
—Houstonia Magazine
Spring’s best museum shows celebrate the influence of daring experimentalists.
—Observer
It’s impossible to think of Houston music from the ’90s without remembering DJ Screw.
—Houston Press
Top 5 | March 5, 2020 | Slowed and Throwed sits at #1
—Glasstire
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston’s show immortalizes the late musician in his hometown.
—Texas Monthly
How DJ Screw’s legacy thrives 20 years after his passing.
—Tidal Magazine