Origin of Afro-Esotericism

2018 - Photography (Photography)
53.34 x 60.96 x 5.08 cm

Awol Erizku’s image Origin of Afro-Esotericism has compositional force and a rhythmic use of full-blast color. In the image are five faces each with varying modes of representation. One of them is “Aunt Jemima” (recently renamed Pearl Milling Company), a brand that appropriated a character from a late 19th century minstrel show. Just in front is a stack of hundred dollar bills. Still-life images are known for embedding secret symbolism or, as the title suggests, pointing to the esoteric qualities of mass-produced objects. These sit quietly and carefully in dialogue with the hand-made masks and sculptures.

A contemporary response to the historical motif of the still-life, Awol Erizku’s studio photography is brimming with color and symbolism. Mixing references across time and space, from an African mask and a syrup bottle to a wooden incense burner and a shrink-wrapped bust of Queen Nefertiti, the cross-cultural narrative parallels Eriku’s own story, connecting his origins in Africa (Ethiopia), to his life in the US (New York and Los Angeles). Complicating the ‘stillness’ of the still life, Erizku activates the image with life; a swirl of smoke from the incense, an extended arm holding a color-card, used in post-production color-matching. The means of production made visible.