BLACK BEYOND a^3 EXHIBITION (2022)
"I Forever Am" (2021) by multi-hyphenate artist-filmmaker Jamal Ademola emerges as a mesmerizing triptych in response to the racialized killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, a symphony of visual storytelling manifested through a three-channel video art installation. This immersive experience invites viewers into the ethereal realm of All-Seer "Sunmoluwa," a fictional cosmic deity created by Ademola which is rooted in Yoruba cosmology. The narrative unfolds as the celestial dance of the "Iyami Aje" intertwines with empowering poetic verses that transmute pain and trauma into imaginations of an alternate Black universe in perpetual creation.
Dynamic and evocative, the animated sequences within the installation capture the essence of radical transformation. Witness the transcendence of the otherworldly entity as it shape-shifts through a mesmerizing array of forms, blurring the boundaries between the tangible and the metaphysical. "I Forever Am" not only invites contemplation on the cosmic stage but also beckons audiences to explore the profound depths of Blackness through the interplay of poetry, moving images, and the alchemical power of thought, movement and voice.
Materials: Three 13in CRT televisions, Custom housing, painted white wood.
"Curated by Jazsalyn with Shameekia Shantel Johnson, and Yvonne Mpwo, the exhibition convenes the work of artists Harmony Holiday, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Lamb, Zainab Aliyu, Jamal Ademola, Anastasia Warren, Fields Harrington, Jazsalyn, Jazmine Hayes, Asia Stewart, ed-en, Xavier Scott Marshall and Willy Ndatira under a shared interest in considering blackness outside of a white imaginary."
“_a^3 is a critical analysis of black critical metatheories,” explains Jazsalyn, who is also a faculty member in the DT program. “It maps and dissolves the falsified structures of modernity, and imagines new realities for black and indigenous life through an exploration of (afro) pessimism, nowism, afro vs afrifuturism, and black womanism.” - The New School
PRESS:
Black Beyond's a^3 Exhibition opens at The New School
Cult Classic : Reimagining Black Futures with Black Beyond
Cultured Mag : Black Beyond conjures the now to envision Black future
black beyond_assembly, alchemy, ascension {a^3} CREDITS
Curators : Jazsalyn with Shameekia Shantel Johnson, and Yvonne Mpwo
Gallery : The New School : Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery, New York
Artists : Harmony Holiday, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Lamb, Zainab Aliyu, Jamal Ademola, Anastasia Warren, Fields Harrington, JAZSALYN, Jazmine Hayes, Asia Stewart, ed-en, Xavier Scott Marshall, Willy Ndatira
Exhibition Install & Design:
Daisy Wong, Daniel Chou and Livia Foldes
