81C is pleased to announce Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain, an immersive contemporary art exhibition by collaborative duo Emily Braswell (strawberriemilk) and Jenna Rees (warmmilkwithsugar), opening in St. Thomas on May 15, 5 p.m.-12 a.m.
The opening reception at 81C will feature DJ Carbar and refreshments. Admission is free and the exhibiting artists will be present.
Expanding on their evolving Krankie series, the exhibition brings together painting, video, sculpture, and installation to construct a cinematic, psychologically charged world shaped by absurdist commentary on fame today versus pre internet times. Following its debut in Los Angeles, Krankie II arrives in the Virgin Islands as an immersive dual-location activation, presented at 81C in historic Charlotte Amalie and accompanied by a supporting component at the XIIID Research and Strategy Innovation Center at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Supported through a collaboration between 81C Arts, XIIID, and UVI, Krankie II represents a continued investment in advancing contemporary art and education in the territory. The exhibition creates direct pathways for student engagement, interdisciplinary learning, and public access to museum-quality creative production.
By positioning immersive, narrative-driven art within both a gallery and academic setting, the project highlights the role of the arts as a critical component of cultural and intellectual infrastructure in the Virgin Islands.
Show Description:
“Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain by Emily Braswell (Strawberriemilk) and Jenna Rees (Warmmilkwithsugar) unfolds as a warped cinematic universe where painting, video, and sculpture collapse into a single, unstable narrative field. Centered around a fictional 1980s movie star in a meta-perspective of invented lore from parallel storylines, the work drifts between past and present, constructing a world where time folds in on itself and meaning emerges through fragments rather than sequence.
Hybrid airbrush and traditional paintings operate as imagined film artifacts: posters, stills, and visual residues from fictitious movies that are rendered with a hyper-saturated, almost synthetic clarity. Their surfaces oscillate between softness and precision, evoking the tactile nostalgia of analog media while simultaneously referencing the flattened glow of digital imagery. Sculptural interventions punctuate the space with quiet absurdity, grounding the work in physical form while amplifying its psychological tension.
The accompanying video component extends this atmosphere into motion, offering a disjointed, voyeuristic glimpse into the interior lives orbiting this fictional figure. Rather than resolving into narrative, the work lingers in mood—an uneasy balance of humor, longing, and quiet unpredictability.
Drawing from the American south small-town culture and nostalgia for the sensationalized monolithic star style fame of pre-internet times, Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain constructs a world that feels both intimately familiar and fundamentally distorted. It is less a story than a condition—one where fantasy and perception continuously rewrite one another.” — The Curators, 81C, Charlotte Amalie, 2026
About the Show:
Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain expands the evolving Krankie universe into a dual-location experience spanning 81C in historic Charlotte Amalie and to the XIIID Research and Strategy Innovation Center at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas campus.
This two-part presentation deepens the narrative and physical experience of the work—bridging gallery and academic environments to create a layered, immersive encounter with contemporary art in the Virgin Islands.
At 81C, the exhibition unfolds as a fully realized environment, where painting, sculpture, and video merge into a cohesive sensory installation. Visitors enter a world shaped by reimagined retro visuals, nonlinear storytelling, and abstraction executed with realistic precision—an uncanny space where narrative operates more as atmosphere than linear story.
At The XIIID Research and Strategy Innovation Center at UVI, Krankie II activates XIIID’s Zen Room as a dedicated cinematic environment, highlighting the exhibition’s cinema components and offering viewers engagement with multi-screen moving-image. Accompanied by a selected sculptural element positioned within this academic and research-driven setting, the activation invites students and the public to encounter the work through curiosity, reflection, and shared viewing, ultimately driving visitation to the full scale show at 81C in Charlotte Amalie.
Together, this dual-location experience reflects a shared commitment between 81C, XIIID, and UVI to advance student engagement through arts production in the VI.
The show highlights the role of creative immersive experiences as an incubator for intellectual infrastructure—capable of constructively shaping how we observe, engage, and relate to fine arts.
Show Sponsors::
Foundation For Contemporary Arts, One Communication, UVI, VI Museum of Art, VICA, XIIID
Artist Statement:
Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain is a sequel exhibition in the Krankie series. Krankie is a conceptual body of work that merges painting, video, and sculpture through installation. The concept is rooted in an imagined world that explores themes of anxiety around money and obsession with fame through a fictional story of an 80s movie star and his super fans.
The story begins in 1989 in a small southern town somewhere in rural America. Two unacquainted neighbors share a fanatic obsession with a hyper famous actor of their time, who goes by the stage name: Krankie. The two super fans live seemingly mundane lives, but are both plagued by mental and financial challenges. They find an escape in their hyper fixation on Krankie.
Krankie II: Middle of the Food Chain serves as a situational study that zooms in on the aged 80s movie star reflecting on his prime in this fictional world where time bends. He is able to revisit 1989 and leave treasures for his troubled super fans. In this mysterious warping of time, money from his Hollywood fortune becomes tangible for his super fans back in the peak of his prime.
Artists Bio:
Emily Braswell and Jenna Rees are collaborative art partners that work under the aliases Strawberriemilk & Warmmilkwithsugar. Their practice centers on painting, accompanied by video, installations and sculptures. Their lifelong friendship has fueled their collaborations for over a decade.
Their creative partnership began at UNCSA, a visual arts boarding school, in North Carolina, that they attended on merit-based scholarships. They went on to pursue higher education, then reconnected in Atlanta, where they gained recognition for pairing their paintings with conceptual installations.
Their work has a performative quality from their joint persona — layered with humor, matching attire and sensory experiences for their audiences. After recently relocating to the Caribbean, they exhibited in the Virgin Islands and Los Angeles. The duo now continues their studio practice in San Juan, PR.
Opening Reception Details:
May 15th, 2026 – 5PM-12AM
81C, Charlotte Amalie
Free admission
Park on waterfront
Gallery Run / Open Hours to view the show:
On View through July, 2026:
81C, Charlotte Amalie
Tues-Sat 5-8PM
The XIIID Research and Strategy Innovation Center at UVI
Mon-Fri 8:30AM-5:30PM
Show Sponsors:
Foundation For Contemporary Arts
One Communication
UVI
VI Museum of Art
VICA
XIIID
