BLACKBODY

“Blackbody'' is a combination of spiritual and scientific realms, inspired by unexplored territories in the deep expanse of space. The works depict a post-human protagonist, who is decolonized, liberated, freed of chaos and imprisonment from within the terrestrial realm. In the work human flesh occupies a state of imprisonment, fear, guilt and shame for which we should seek to escape from. The “Blackbody”protagonist is born of invisible light, ascends, and baptized into the cosmos to reach spiritual enlightenment and fulfillment. 

“Blackbody” seeks to transport the mind to the outer limits of space where the mind can’t begin to fathom. An unlimited realm, where I’m free to project notions that defy all terrestrial laws. Freeing, both mind, body and spirit from the grasp of dystopian technology. The work creates an alternative route, where a deeper and profound understanding of the universe is presented. The work also integrates but also defies the laws of science by integrating aspects of what is considered up and down to create a surreal experience. In the work, cosmic waters have fishes, normally understood to be beneath us in the depths of the oceans. The work presents the idea that all of this is considered one in the same. The works subtly imply the question, what if the vault above us is composed of a liquid crystalline-semi solid state, expanse of water holding all celestial bodies in place?

My work Blackbody-Take Me Away Cosmic waters, features a swan personified as a rescuer or hero of sorts; representative of the masculine principle. Delivering an obscured black bodied woman through uncharted cosmic waters. The moon is adrift in the background, creating the context for the work. Notions of up and down are literally discarded for a more favored juxtaposition. On a lone journey, a black bodied figure embarks on a cosmic voyage, free from terrestrial rules and restrictions. 

In Carl Sagan’s, The Pale Blue Dot, a team of scientists, seek to board a voyager, that not only tests the outer limits of space, but shows the earth from a distance that eliminates all the human constraints, wars, oppression, bloodshed etc.. The expanse of space in my work, provides this same context. In fact earth isn’t even visible in any of these works, except for celestial bodies, figures and sea creatures. The works typically embody a female or male protagonist, occupying an unreachable place in space where, all troubles are replaced with escapism, and rebirth. Galactical waters act as a sort of baptism, rectitude of peace, where the figures are purged of any self-deprecation. 

Yinka Shonibare, a textile, multi-disciplinary artist, speaks about his multicultural background and how it affected him. He makes a note of migrating from Nigeria to the UK, and encountering a new identity imposed upon him. He was no longer a Nigerian, but now shared a new identity of black and the stereotypes associated with that image. Similarly, I encountered a new identity of black that I wanted to strip myself of, after migrating back to the USA. I stumbled on a scientific theory called, Blackbody. Blackbody in science references a celestial body such as the sun. The official explanation of Blackbody is an object capable of absorbing and projecting the full spectrum of light. For me this redefined what black meant for me and unified both concepts. The concepts of Black and White, separates humankind from all parts of the globe into two distinct gradations. My concepts seeks to obliterate this division uniting the two spheres. My work Transfiguration: Black Is White and The Fig Tree Wilts, typifies this idea. The female protagonist is a black body transfiguring into a light body escaping the clutches of the flesh.