Where we at (now)

This blog was dedicated to surrealist art produced by women of the African Diaspora. Inspired by the Black Arts feminist collective 'Where We At', 'Where We At Now' will highlight works from that period along with contemporary pieces. There will also be news segments, music, film- all around culture created and expressed by women of the African Diaspora As is my life is dedicated to those things- now this blog suffices as a personal journal of my poetry and surreal/visual video art

[whereweatnow]

i think the land is more honest in new mexico than in virginia

[whereweatnow]

ha

sure, I don't mind being your only black female friend- ha no problem. 

      i hope. I am performing well. That is to your expectations. of what it means to be a black woman. i hope 

[whereweatnow]

im here now

my grandmother lived a hundred years. she saw a nation born, she bore a nation. 

her back was strong. i need to make my back strong. 

[whereweatnow]

vou embora

vou embora

GO NOW 

I wear fake hair but that shid is mid length DON'T CARE//turnupturndownforwhat? 

or do I/

Sin Embargo, my stomach still hurts. alot. i eat away my pain, i pull my hair to cover my pain, i clothe my body to shield the pain - then I reveal in it- it is my partner, my lover, my confidant. 

it likes my fake hair. it reminds me i am as fake as this world. 

but if the pain from my stomach tells the truth- must i rely on the body? 

GO NOW because I have no control 

[whereweatnow]

if you dont know what to do- 

do what you know

[whereweatnow]

jimi hendrix save me

in my youth 'manic depression' explained my growth and anxiety.

                    now just drop the manic, because i just dropped the ball on 

growth. 

                 what do i do? 

[whereweatnow]

asexualidad, i am stimulated más by good pizza than anyone else- and cake- gosto de bolo, o melhor- the air, wind, large areas of water

[revolutionaryperformance]

Maria Teresa Hincapié, La vitrina (The shop window), 1990, © Santiago Zuluaga

[whereweatnow]

Gaining independence in 1975 after nearly 500 years of occupation, Angola was catapulted into a conflict between three rival nationalist liberation groups that had fought for decolonialization from Portugal. Quickly becoming the battleground for the pervasive power struggle between the Soviet Union, the US, and their allies—with each faction considering their preferred outcome of the civil war crucial for the global balance of power—Angola suffered the physical burns of a war termed cold in our history books. HKW, historically established on the border between the first and second worlds to house representations of the third, offers a challenging and complicated stage for Luanda-based artist Nástio Mosquito. With large projections of imagery taken from archived Africa-themed exhibitions at HKW in the background, Mosquito sings and rants at us with his rebellious candor while forcing us to watch him in the context of our ambiguous desire for representation and identity politics. Mixing nearly inaudible accusations of colonial automatisms with the seductive flattery of being allowed to listen to his vulnerable lyrical confessions on life and love, Mosquito’s performances unfold as a game of attraction and assault, where salvation is offered and then stolen in jest. The cacophony of destruction and sensual playfulness enchants us into doubting what we have actually left behind as we move into a new era.-Gwen Parry, Former West

[whereweatnow]

movements suck and they die. people just need to move

[whereweatnow]

i am

no ones past or potential chattel wife

[grand-bazaar]

1911 Nigeria Itsekiri Chief & Family

[whereweatnow]

ancestors

[whereweatnow]

"Anything bad that can happen to you, can happen to me- and I am still Negro" - The Cry of Jazz 1959

[whereweatnow]

slave no longer. SLAVE NO LONGER. this IS freedom day

[bella-torera]

Oil, blessing or curse. Nigeria. | Akintunde Akinleye 

[whereweatnow]

home

[studioafrica]

MUST-SEE EXHIBITION: Six Draughtsmen @ MoCADA, Brooklyn, NY | runs until 19 January 2014

Six Draughtsmen highlights the drawing practices of six artists:  Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Toyin Odutola, Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Nnenna Okore, Odun Orimolade and Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze (the exhibition curator).  

Most of these artists have roots or affiliation with Nigeria, while also working in the U.S.. Although drawing is the practice that’s foregrounded in this exhibition, most of the artists work as installation artists, performance artists, mixed media artists and sculptors alongside drawing. All are interested in “taking mark-making, line, erasure / transparency, memory and process, off the page and into three dimensional space.” Head to MoCADA to see the diverse ways these artists rethink the medium.

See more of these artists’ work via the links above

[bordadaemflor]