devon kayne @devonkayne - Tumblr Blog

#001

archives of a mgbedike face mask carved by the igbo peoples of nigeria. wood, gum, basketry, metal, & cloth from the nineteenth century.

archives of a nkisi nkondi figure carved by the songye peoples of the democratic republic of the congo. wood, pigment, copper, metal, glass beads, raffia, antelope horns, goat horns & civet hide from the nineteenth century.

separated by thousands of miles across decadent land, unfamiliar waters, & multiple claimed & unclaimed territories across the continent of africa, what would it look like for the igbo peoples: a igbo speaking peoples who reside in nigeria & the songye peoples: a kisongye speaking peoples who come from the congo, actually met one another? what would the clothing of kenyans & eretrians sharing thread & needle look like? what specific details would elicit artistic similarities & differences when seen or found by each other? what was considered aesthetically pleasing versus displeasure when constructing the clothing or masks amongst other various sub saharan africans way before the interruption of colonizers with african sand under their feet?

of course it would be naive to negate the clear & realistic potential for these two african peoples to engage in defending one’s bloodline just as humans have done since the beginning of time, however, there is also the clear potential for a deep love & exchange, what would these half west african half east african deities look like? the taste of the food? the scents of perfume & colognes? the facial structure?

from the trees in nigeria, to the soil in the congo, to the sugary heat in fort smith, arkansas; i ask myself as a boy from the south what do you think these masks, deities, & figures would look like if you conjured ideations of these just as your ancestors did before you?

inspired by the warmth of other suns by isabel wilkerson this six part series attempts to answer these questions through diligent research & the conjuring of one’s own designs & influence when coming across these archives. enjoyed researching this & with love, from me to you.

archives sourced thru anansi studios founded by devon kayne.

wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

curation. casting. archives.

#devonkayne #dk #the warmth of other suns

#002

archives of a two headed nkisi nkondi mbwa carved & adorned by the yombe & kongo peoples of the democratic republic of the congo. wood, pigment, & metal from the nineteenth century.

archives of a n’tomo kun face mask carved by the bamana peoples of mali. wood, pigment, fiber, & cowrie shells from the nineteenth century.

separated by thousands of miles across decadent land, unfamiliar waters, & multiple claimed & unclaimed territories in across the continent of africa, what would it look like for the yombe peoples: a kiyombe speaking peoples who reside in the congo, & the bamana peoples: a bambara speaking peoples who come from mali, actually met one another? what would the clothing of kenyans & eretrians sharing thread & needle look like? what specific details would elicit artistic similarities & differences when seen or found by each other? what was considered aesthetically pleasing versus displeasure when constructing the clothing or masks amongst various sub saharan africans way before the interruption of colonizers with african sand under their feet?

of course it would be naive to negate the clear & realistic potential for these two african peoples to engage in defending one’s bloodline just as humans have done since the beginning of time, however, there is also the clear potential for a deep love & exchange, what would these half west african half east african deities look like? the taste of the food? the scents of perfume & colognes? the facial structure?

from the trees in mali, to the soil in the congo, to the sugary heat in fort smith, arkansas; i ask myself as a boy from the south what do you think these masks, deities, & figures would look like if you conjured ideations of these just as your ancestors did before you?

inspired by the warmth of other suns by isabel wilkerson this six part series attempts to answer these questions through diligent research & the conjuring of one’s own designs & influence when coming across these archives. enjoyed researching this & with love, from me to you.

archives sourced thru anansi studios founded by devon kayne.

wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

curation. casting. archives.

#devonkayne #dk #the warmth of other suns

#003

archives of two separate kindombolo face masks carved by the pende peoples of the democratic republic of the congo. wood & pigment both from the twentieth century.

separated by thousands of miles across decadent land, unfamiliar waters, & multiple claimed & unclaimed territories across the continent of africa, what would it look like for two artists of the pende peoples: a kipende speaking peoples who reside in the congo, to conjure together on a piece verses independently of one another? what would the clothing of kenyans & eretrians sharing thread & needle look like? what specific details would elicit artistic similarities & differences when seen or found by each other? what was considered aesthetically pleasing versus displeasure when constructing the clothing or masks amongst other various sub saharan africans way before the interruption of colonizers with african sand under their feet?

of course it would be naive to negate the clear & realistic potential for these two african peoples to engage in defending one’s bloodline just as humans have done since the beginning of time, however, there is also the clear potential for a deep love & exchange, what would these half west african half east african deities look like? the taste of the food? the scents of perfume & colognes? the facial structure?

from the trees in the congo, to the soil in angola, to the sugary heat in fort smith, arkansas; i ask myself as a boy from the south what do you think these masks, deities, & figures would look like if you conjured ideations of these just as your ancestors did before you?

inspired by the warmth of other suns by isabel wilkerson this six part series attempts to answer these questions through diligent research & the conjuring of one’s own designs & influence when coming across these archives. enjoyed researching this & with love, from me to you.

archives sourced thru anansi studios founded by devon kayne.

wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

curation. casting. archives.

#devonkayne #dk #the warmth of other suns

#004

archives of an edan ògbóni forged by the yoruba peoples of nigeria. brass from the nineteenth century. a ciwara kunw carved by the bamana peoples of mali. wood, pigment, metal, brass, tacks & grasses from the twentieth century. a sogoni kun carved by the bamana peoples of mali. wood & pigment from the nineteenth century. a n’tomo kun face mask carved by the bamana peoples of mali. wood, pigment, fiber, & cowrie shells from the nineteenth century.

separated by thousands of miles across decadent land, unfamiliar waters, & multiple claimed & unclaimed territories across the continent of africa, what would it look like for the yoruba peoples: a yoruba speaking peoples who reside in nigeria/benin & the bamana peoples: a bambara speaking peoples who come from mali, actually met one another? what would the clothing of kenyans & eretrians sharing thread & needle look like? what specific details would elicit artistic similarities & differences when seen or found by each other? what was considered aesthetically pleasing versus displeasure when constructing the clothing or masks amongst other various sub saharan africans way before the interruption of colonizers with african sand under their feet?

of course it would be naive to negate the clear & realistic potential for these two african peoples to engage in defending one’s bloodline just as humans have done since the beginning of time, however, there is also the clear potential for a deep love & exchange, what would these half west african half east african deities look like? the taste of the food? the scents of perfume & colognes? the facial structure?

from the trees in benin, to the soil in mali, to the heat in fort smith, arkansas; i ask myself as a boy from the south what do you think these masks, deities, & figures would look like if you conjured ideations of these just as your ancestors did before you?

inspired by the warmth of other suns by isabel wilkerson this six part series attempts to answer these questions through diligent research & the conjuring of one’s own designs & influence when coming across these archives from me to you.

archives sourced thru anansi studios founded by devon kayne.

wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

curation. casting. archives.

#devonkayne #dk #the warmth of other suns

#005

archives of a tankagle face mask carved by the dan peoples of côte d’lvoire. wood, pigment, fiber & metal from the twentieth century.

archives of one handmade headdress made by the fang peoples of gabon. basketry, fiber, cowrie shells, & cloth.

separated by thousands of miles across decadent land, unfamiliar waters, & multiple claimed & unclaimed territories across the continent of africa, what would it look like for the dan peoples: a mande speaking peoples who reside in côte d’lvoire & the fang peoples: a bantu speaking peoples who come from gabon, actually met one another? what would the clothing of kenyans & eretrians sharing thread & needle look like? what specific details would elicit artistic similarities & differences when seen or found by each other? what was considered aesthetically pleasing versus displeasure when constructing the clothing or masks amongst other various sub saharan africans way before the interruption of colonizers with african sand under their feet?

of course it would be naive to negate the clear & realistic potential for these two african peoples to engage in defending one’s bloodline just as humans have done since the beginning of time, however, there is also the clear potential for a deep love & exchange, what would these half west african half east african deities look like? the taste of the food? the scents of perfume & colognes? the facial structure?

from the trees in gabon, to the soil in côte d’lvoire, to the sugary heat in fort smith, arkansas; i ask myself as a boy from the south what do you think these masks, deities, & figures would look like if you conjured ideations of these just as your ancestors did before you?

inspired by the warmth of other suns by isabel wilkerson this six part series attempts to answer these questions through diligent research & the conjuring of one’s own designs & influence when coming across these archives. enjoyed researching this & with love, from me to you.

archives sourced thru anansi studios founded by devon kayne.

wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

curation. casting. archives.

#devonkayne #dk #the warmth of other suns

#006

archives of an edan ògbóni forged by the yoruba peoples of nigeria. brass from the nineteenth century. a ciwara kunw carved by the bamana peoples of mali. wood, pigment, metal, brass, tacks & grasses from the twentieth century. a sogoni kun carved by the bamana peoples of mali. wood & pigment from the nineteenth century. a n’tomo kun face mask carved by the bamana peoples of mali. wood, pigment, fiber, & cowrie shells from the nineteenth century.

separated by thousands of miles across decadent land, unfamiliar waters, & multiple claimed & unclaimed territories across the continent of africa, what would it look like for the yoruba peoples: a yoruba speaking peoples who reside in nigeria/benin & the bamana peoples: a bambara speaking peoples who come from mali, actually met one another? what would the clothing of kenyans & eretrians sharing thread & needle look like? what specific details would elicit artistic similarities & differences when seen or found by each other? what was considered aesthetically pleasing versus displeasure when constructing the clothing or masks amongst other various sub saharan africans way before the interruption of colonizers with african sand under their feet?

of course it would be naive to negate the clear & realistic potential for these two african peoples to engage in defending one’s bloodline just as humans have done since the beginning of time, however, there is also the clear potential for a deep love & exchange, what would these half west african half east african deities look like? the taste of the food? the scents of perfume & colognes? the facial structure?

from the trees in benin, to the soil in mali, to the heat in fort smith, arkansas; i ask myself as a boy from the south what do you think these masks, deities, & figures would look like if you conjured ideations of these just as your ancestors did before you?

inspired by the warmth of other suns by isabel wilkerson this six part series attempts to answer these questions through diligent research & the conjuring of one’s own designs & influence when coming across these archives from me to you.

archives sourced thru anansi studios founded by devon kayne.

wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

curation. casting. archives.

#devonkayne #dk #the warmth of other suns

devonkayne

“yemaya’s whisper”

archived portrait of three igbo women in nigeria circa nineteen twenty, multiple scans of black molasses on cellophane, & paper print of aweng chuol for mugler by dudi hasson. wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

casting. curation. archives.

devonkayne

archives with @telfarglobal & @timberland.

featuring the mid black pull on telfar x timberland boots, scans of the ruched elastic handles, tonal seams & interior on the black telfar liquor store plastic bag, the pink telfar jumbo thank you plastic bag, silver telfar hoops & an archived portrait of a two vai women circa nineteen hundreds from the open library smithsonian archive.

inspired by anthropologist & princess of the vai people of liberia, fatima massaquoi fahbulleh & liberian american designer & founder of telfar; telfar clemens.

wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

casting. curation. archives.

devonkayne

meet deja x casted & shot by ya boy.

devonkayne

archives with @telfarglobal & @timberland.

featuring the wheat mid pull on telfar x timberland boots, interior lining & detailing inside the large black telfar x timberland shopper bag, scans of the ruched elastic handles & tonal seams on the black telfar liquor store plastic bag, silver telfar hoops & an archived portrait of a liberian woman playing an instrument called the saasaa circa nineteen seventy; made from a vine gourd which is dried for several months & covered with loose netting strung with beads or cowries, from the archive background to liberia by micat.

inspired by anthropologist & princess of the vai people of liberia, fatima massaquoi fahbulleh & liberian american designer & founder of telfar; telfar clemens.

wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

casting. curation. archives.

devonkayne

“the quiet trade”

trade standing in the kitchen, transparent scan of camel thorns on the vachellia erioloba; tree native to south africa & page 263 of assata by assata shakur; an affirmation titled “tradition”. wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

casting. curation. archives.

devonkayne

“98 acinom benin”

still of monica calhoun from the players club circa nineteen ninety eight, archived side profile of yoruba woman from early eighteen hundreds & a transparent scan of raw cotton. wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

casting. curation. archives.

devonkayne

“anthocyanin”

archived vintage portrait of xl, sixteen separate scans of various species of cowrie shells native to africa: gold ring cowrie, eroded cowrie, lynx cowrie, histrio cowrie, tiger cowrie, money cowrie, caurica cowrie, errones cowrie, ziczac cowrie, fimbriated cowrie, staphylaea cowrie, mole cowrie, map cowrie, nucleus cowrie, chickpea cowrie, labrolineata cowrie & one blood orange.

inspired by anthocyanin, salivation, & the neurochemistry behind lust; specific to the d2 & d4 dopamine receptors.

saint heron x saint heron digital archive library x @anansixstudios.

wheat paste graphic on textured canvas, handmade & curated by devon kayne.

casting. curation. archives.