One of the MacArthur fellow’s largest-ever exhibitions, “The Shape of Things” reveals the inner workings of her photographic practice through ambitious multi-work installations and performances. Her unflinching gaze at the “pageantry” and “circus-like” quality of modern-day American political life finds form in a cyclorama—a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform—that will broadcast new and existing film footage. 

“It’s a time of murder, mayhem, and mass protest when covert operators of corruption bear their heads for all to see,” Weems says. “My work centers on what happens when all facades are stripped away, and the people are left standing face to face with the realities of our time.” Other elements include a memorial wall dedicated to victims of anti-Black violence and installations evocative of 19th-century peep shows and dioramas.