JOURNEY
This project is a sand pathway, adorned with intricate African patterns that serve as a symbolic journey of my struggles from the rich cultural heritage of Africa to America. This Installation allows the audience to engage with the artwork more deeply, relying solely on their sense of touch, using their feet. This will be a homage to the Yoruba/African culture, where the ancestors walked and relied on their feet to reach their destination. This project is a filled space installation as it engages mostly the floor in the space. The 54-foot-long floor is covered up with sand and a pathway is designed with African patterns. This uniquely transforms the space in space forcing the audience to engage with the work and space with their feet. The lighting sets a mood in the room as the setting of light allows an interesting cast of shadows around the pathway and most especially allows the footprints outside the pathway to be visibly interesting.
This installation is both enchantment and impersonation. Enchantment as it transports you into a different space, having to use the sense of feeling through the feet. Walking on the patterns allows the viewer to connect and have an uncomfortable feeling. It is an Impersonation as it imitates a visual representation of a pathway.
SEAT
Seat is an installation that presents viewers with the capacity to draw in sand. The act of drawing is a tactile and meditative experience. It is placed in front of Mix or Match and the Cycles drawings within the exhibition space. Viewers are invited to sit, meditate, reflect, and observe these works that present my journey as well as my experiences as an artist who is a product of two distinct cultures. Sand is poured on the floor to form a circular shape and a tree stump is carefully placed in the middle of the sand as a form of meditation. The audience are allowed to draw and trample upon the sand thereby engaging with artwork by unknowingly adding to aspect of frustration that comes from having to make a particular drawing multiple time. The presence of external distractions, such as footprints left by others constantly walking over the drawings on the sand emphasizes the frustration and determination of my passion for artmaking as child. The ritual of sitting and drawing in the sand as a child is a memory of solitude. It allowed me relief from the bustle of a crowded environment. Sand as a material is a representative of the Yorùbá landscape and homeland, conjuring memories of my heritage and ancestral origin. In contrast, the decaying tree stump is hardened and weathered, connecting to forests of Appalachia, where I currently reside. It is a testament to my transformation within a new land. The juxtaposition of both environments and cultures using sand and tree stumps allows me to create a setting where both worlds can exist together in a place at the time.
SEAT IN PROGRESS