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Temples of my Familiar Contrary to popular belief the spirit and non physical realm of existence is not an exclusive reality tucked away in the clouds awaiting our departure for its embrace. Instead it is thinly veiled in plain sight and there can be focused gestures and petitions towards seeking and experiencing more of its essence through ritual. In search of my Familiar is a suite of ongoing multimedia ritual installations that explore the intersections between ancestral totems and my intuitive spatial, performance and sculptural creative practice. Mercy Oduyoye wrote, “ Religion and culture are so intertwined throughout the African Diaspora that you cannot speak of one without the other.We are, in sum, incomplete or unfinished animals who complete or finish ourselves through culture, making it a vital necessary in our development. Culture is able to manifest and evolve through peoples willingness to be carries of information and data expressions from a higher creative consciousness that both contributes to biological survival as well as expansion in spiritual intelligence(s). African traditional concepts of being show a belief in a potential energy stored in objects and through investigations and explorations with material are we able to harness the latent energy in those objects. It is everywhere , it flows through all and thus conspicuous objects like the washboard, curio cabinets, quilt or metal spoons become the new totems from which this divine force is drawn. Even in our digital technologies there exists methods of harnessing divine energies and broadening communication with the etheric realm, turning the power of expanded sight back on the world , saturating the everyday with personal and spiritual significance. Below is an archived compilation of images detailing installations works that work to channel said significance. Enjoy. |
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MFA Thesis Exhibition: Mo'lasses
Molasses is an interdisciplinary ethnographic installation inspired from the material collection of artist Viktor le Givens, who after beginning ancestral research becomes inspired by the spiritual folk customs of the rural south. Through careful curation and environmental design the artist aims to conjure a corner that fuses pre and post colonial spirit traditions with mundane southern vernacular objects.
Molasses is an interdisciplinary ethnographic installation inspired from the material collection of artist Viktor le Givens, who after beginning ancestral research becomes inspired by the spiritual folk customs of the rural south. Through careful curation and environmental design the artist aims to conjure a corner that fuses pre and post colonial spirit traditions with mundane southern vernacular objects.
