Origin of Afro-Esotericism
2018 - Photography (Photography)
53.34 x 60.96 x 5.08 cm
Awol Erizku
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.
Colors:
Related works sharing similar palette
© » ROYAL ACADEMY
Video: introducing 'Entangled Pasts, 1768–now: Art, Colonialism and Change' | Blog | Royal Academy of Arts Lubaina Himid RA in her studio Video: introducing ‘Entangled Pasts, 1768–now: Art, Colonialism and Change’ Read more Become a Friend Video: introducing ‘Entangled Pasts, 1768–now: Art, Colonialism and Change’ Published 2 November 2023 Artist Lubaina Himid RA talks to us about our next exhibition in the Main Galleries...
© » ANOTHER
Uncovering Britain’s Groundbreaking Black-British Women Photographers | AnOther February 05, 2024 Text Elodie Saint-Louis Lead Image Eileen Perrier, ‘Untitled’ from the series Afro Hair and Beauty Show, 1998, from Shining Lights by Joy Gregory (ed.) (MACK, 2024) Courtesy of the artist and MACK In Shining Lights , the “first critical anthology to bring together the groundbreaking work of Black women photographers active in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s ”, a constellation of rarely-seen stars finally take their rightful place in the sky...
© » KQED
Ticket Alert: Usher Is Coming to Oakland Arena in September | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer upper waypoint Arts & Culture Ticket Alert: Usher Is Coming to Oakland Arena in September Sarah Hotchkiss Feb 6 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email Tickets for Usher’s North American tour ‘Past Present Future’ go on sale to the general public Feb...
© » TWOCOATSOFPAINT
Afire: Christian Petzold’s combustible feast – Two Coats of Paint Afire (directed by Christian Petzold), 2023, Leon on the beach (Thomas Schubert) , courtesy of Janus Films Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / Instability hovers on several fronts – environmental, political, economic – and German filmmaker Christian Petzold manifests his concern about it with remarkable astuteness...
© » KADIST
Paolo Cirio
2020Capture is a photographic series by Paolo Cirio in which the artist sourced 1000 public images of police officers’ faces and processed them with facial recognition technology...
