I WAS NEVER MEANT TO SURVIVE THIS: Richie Shazam

Richie Shazam’s debut solo exhibition in Austin presents a new series of self-portraits exploring identity as a continual state of becoming and means of survival. Across seven characters Shazam, like a modern La Castiglione, transforms herself to examine shifting perceptions, memory, and the dualities of existence—where dreamscapes and disruptions collide. 

Each character was shot within the confines of an eight-by-ten-foot wooden box complete with seven unique sets, costumes, hair, make-up and prosthetics. The result is seven tableaux each occupying a domestic interior, forming an immersive environment that reflects the character's self-constructed world. Richie is a collector, she stockpiles and accumulates things, scraps and ideas which go on to adorn her future work. Flowers, objects, hair and ornaments spill out of the wooden frame, which eventually broke down as a result of constant creation, renovation and demolition within it. 

The pieces function as a study in survival, an intimate psychological landscape shaped by a relentless quest to create images of our deeply ingrained inner worlds. A soft violence of memory runs throughout, revealing the complexities of how memory operates and how experience imprints itself onto the body. Here, the flesh is divine—a site of reclamation and consciousness regained. 

Novelist Garth Greenwell said “the history of queer art is taking stigma and turning it into style” and for Richie, what began as a trauma response becomes an act of authorship. By situating each scene within a different room of the home, Richie completes what is often a final step in trauma therapy—visiting the site of harm. Through the construction of a singular idea across multiple selves, Richie reclaims her own story, her choice of space, and her ongoing states of becoming. 

The work reflects experiences that Richie should never have had to endure and therefore these are portraits she should never have had to make. But what choice did she have? In Audre Lorde’s A Litany for Survival she remarks “but when we are silent / we are still afraid // So it is better to speak / remembering / we were never meant to survive”. This show, these characters, their frame and Richie herself exist against erasure, asserting presence through ownership of flesh, form, and narrative. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Richie Shazam is an artist who was born and lives in New York City. After graduating from Trinity College she entered the fine art space working in galleries and museums with a focus on curation. She started to model which led to a full immersion in the fashion world where she eventually began working on both sides of the camera, shooting a variety of campaigns, celebrities and magazine covers. Unsatiated still, she turned the lens on herself creating a book of self portraits titled Shazam. The process's creative fulfillment and commercial success inspired Richie to take the concept a step further, using new mediums like sculpture, set design, and an expansive array of photographic techniques to build physical worlds. To manifest her fullest vision, Richie created Shazam Studios, a collective of creatives that turn dreams into physical realities creating a portal for all who wish to join Richie in the construction of self. 

The exhibition opens during SXSW, coinciding with Shazam’s panel that took place on Tuesday, March 17, titled I Was Never Meant to Survive This: Building a Creative Legacy.

Additional exhibition and programming details will be announced in the coming weeks. For press inquiries or to schedule a preview, please contact: info@mclennonpenco.com