BLACKNESS, EMBODIMENT & RISING IN GREATNESS
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WELCOME TO THE BIRTH OF CRUCIBLE Crucible is our offering to the world. Born out of conflict yet serving to heal, it forges new spaces and simultaneously is its own space for empowerment. Rather than being the token or a trophy, Crucible is the container, a sacred vessel, where an array of life experiences and a spectrum of identities can be celebrated and held. Withstanding heat and pressure, but not willing to be melted or homogenised, Crucible is the melting pot which resiliently seeks a new approach to alchemy. Devoted to individual elements, the gathering in this publication seeks to remain layered, polyvocal and ever-evolving. We do not shy away from heated conversations, we invite them, knowing and trusting that the process of alchemy is a catalyst for great change, leading to powerful transformation. In doing so, Crucible becomes a vessel for exploring the nuances of intersectional identities by empowering those who come together here. Our intention for Crucible is to explore safe spaces, telling contemporary stories of identity, triumph and legacy. In this new era of the 21st century exploring intersecting facets of human lives serves to share, inspire and ignite connections.
individual spaces as much as white Artists and Jewellers. Previously this type of space has not been accessible, habitable or inclusive only under tokenism and so to answer Current Obsession’s call we said, ‘Yes’! For Crucible the disaggregation of racial groups is the first step in addressing these inequities, as reductionist homogenisation upholds current systems. We as People of Colour are diverse; socio-economic backgrounds, genders, religions, cultures and sexual orientations are all incomparable, with varying facets of contrast. These intersections should be reflected in spaces where the magnificence of each can be realised, appreciated and evolving. By using the term People of Colour to identify or describe the people in this publication, Crucible has endeavoured to carve space for individuality where possible. We are attempting to start the dismantling of colonised language, inauthentic representation, devalued artistry and to subvert the Gaze of whiteness, patriarchy and gender normativism. We aim to highlight the voices of many who are unheard in order to swiftly grow toward a new way of representing the life and work of Black, Brown, Indigenous and People of Colour.
But like the minerals and metals that make us, Crucible was created under complex pressures. Against the backdrop of many cultural shifts, Crucible was conceived in the midst of the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic, during an Instagram Live chat between @roxxsimone and @ finchittida on ‘Blackness, Embodiment & Rising in Greatness’. Our public DMC was followed by an enthusiastic DM from @currentobsessionmag and further DM’s with @_____k.t.h._____ on how we could carve out spaces for these vital conversations by people of colour within the Contemporary Jewellery scene, starting at Munich Jewellery Week. ‘I’m on a journey of decolonisation and reclaiming what growing up in the white gaze took from me. Understanding the plight of my people helps me unify with Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour’s causes. I challenge us all to push back on the systems that cause injustice under the guise of misrepresentation.’ - Hoex As a small space filled with a vast landscape, this is a rich introduction to cultures, people, times and lands. The decision to unify People of Colour within a single publication was a difficult challenge as we, People of Colour, are not monolithic and are deserving of
Crucible has been a saving grace for us as curators and has been a guiding force through this pandemic. Navigating the birth of Crucible during these unprecedented times has been a challenge, but a rewarding one where we’ve connected with amazing artists, writers, healers and truth-seekers across land and sea. Crucible has helped each of us to feel less alone in our experiences as a womxn of colour overcoming trauma and figuring out our identities in this capitalistic world and we hope our first offering helps you to feel part of our global community and empowered in your own greatness! As you move through the publication, self-care is key. Some of our content references sexual and racial trauma, so we encourage you to take personal consideration for your wellbeing. On our website you can find a section on support services. With hearts full of gratitude, Roxanne, Kalkidan & Finchittida Crucible team @cruc_ible
Special thanks to all the generous individuals around
Our Logo was designed by Plan B. Plan B is a
emulates the forming process of when a
Visual Artist, Photographer
the world who bared their hearts and souls for this
two-women led Graphic Design Studio working with
metal is exposed to heat.
@melo_onny
publication, you have filled this vessel with love, hope
creatives, writers and researchers across a broad
weareplan-b.com — @weareplan_b
and inspiration for our generation and beyond.
range of industries whilst maintaining a network that fuels interesting ideas and conversations.
CRUCIBLE is curated by Roxanne Simone, Kalkidan
BACK COVER IMAGE: COPYEDITING by the wonderfully supportive
‘Home’ by DABIN LEE
Nina Hanz
Asian/Korean
ninahanz.com — @nina.land
Independent Jewellery Designer
Hoex and Finchittida Finch – a collective of African,
The basis of the logo is an amalgamation of many
Caribbean and Asian heritage womxn artists, forging
different overlays of typefaces created by women/
new spaces in underrepresented places for individ-
womxn. Additionally, whilst creating letters through
FRONT COVER IMAGE:
uals and communities that identify as black, brown,
making intersections and moulding the lines together
‘Dark and Lovely’ by MELANIE ISSAKA
indigenous, women/womxn of colour and Q.T.BIPOC.
of all these different typefaces, the Crucible logo
African
dabinlee.com @dabinleeart
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SPEAKING WITH HAIR KALKIDAN HOEX Ethiopean-Dutch Jeweller & Storyteller
Speaking with Hair
The wearability of jewellery makes it possible for it to be ‘presented’ in many places and contexts, by (and to) many people, with or without Afro hair. You can carry it with you as a reminder of your political affiliation, as a symbol of empowerment or pride. My jewellery (within and outside the comic) can function not only as a representational piece, symbolically communicating the diversity of black culture, but also as a conversation piece, inspiring different, not only black, people to talk about this culture. I want the wearers of my jewellery to be able to connect with my work, which not only reflects but also educates. In this way, I want to share with my audience something about the history of Afro hair and the diversity of black culture. @_____k.t.h._____ www.thenewtribe.news
ORIANA JEMIDE Landscape Painter British-Nigerian As a Therapeutic Art Life Coach, she is passionate about the tangible impact creativity has on people not just through consumption, but creation. @rianariya
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TIME IS NOT PASSING, WE ARE
FARVASH Artist working at the intersection of art and technology b. Iran Paradox Tale of Logic Gate, Episode 3, Deep Sleep 2020 Performance, installation دوبن یکی دوب یکی، دوبک دبنگ ریز، دوب هتسشن قطنم اتود Paradox tale of Logic Gate (2020) is a fictional myth based on the concept of Gharbzadegi یگدزبرغ/Westernization, which is one of the theories leading to the 1979 revolution in Iran. It investigates how the control of access to high technology is power and how the suppression of technology/knowledge creates totalitarian governments with structural belief systems. The work looks at the future and past of material concealment as a method to enter these two paradox realities. The performance Paradox tale of Logic Gate is a body of works with multiple narratives built around Citizen 000 00X and their territory. It aims to understand the relationship between isolation, self-control, and ancestry trauma. A non-linear and timetraveling piece, it braids past and future sub-consciousness into a ritual, investigating how control can travel beyond borders and time. Paradox tale of Logic Gate is a window into the citizen’s no-land and their ritual of prayer. Citizen 000 001 is an embodiment of personal and collective trauma dealing with the sense of alienation, and a constant strive to create a territory of belonging. Being torn between Gharbzadegi adaption to west, the privileged guilt of being an immigrant, with a feeling of imposed fear and control. (Within my culture, even undesirable immigration is considered a privilege; having a sense of not belonging but still having to be grateful. There are many amongst my generation that deal with suffering mental health due to this concept.) Marking therefore becomes a method of taking control and searching for a place of belonging.
The uniform: A reference to a historical camouflage, this exact pattern was used in combat during the Iran/Iraq war and was developed after the revolution 1979. The camouflage is very unique because the colours were changed from the function of disruption to a symbolic pattern. The colours were made as a tool to unite the soldiers under the one belief of martyrdom. The red symbolises courage and martyrdom, green for religion and the white for peace. The uniform is hand-embroidered to a couture standard to adapt it to a western fetishization and glorification of war and camouflage. FARVASH (b. Iran) is an artist based in Sweden working at the intersection of art and technology. It is a practice in flux yet focused on transformative processes, from the exploration of micro-realities to the navigation of contemporary immigrant guilt. Farvash’s work has three core strands: one rooted deeply in Persian mythology, history, and ontology. Another addressing the de- and reconstruction of identity in relation to trauma, isolation, and the personal experience of war and migration. Her practice is realised on multiple territories, from minute material components to the scale of sculpture, installation and performance. Farvash’s works are micro-realities in which each reality holds its own systems of logic, matter, and persona – all entwined with personal anecdotes and trauma.
Photography by Senay Berhe
Our parents swam halfway across the world As we linger in the ocean between two waves With our tongues twisted Amongst the sounds of our ancestors And the dialect of our resting lands - Two Waves O son of Jaffna Look at the great work you placed upon the coffee brown of my skin From the way the colour of my sari shimmers MARYLENE ESMY
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XINIA GUAN Jeweller Inner Mongolia, China Time is the source of everything accumulated in life. Everything in nature is slowly growing and decaying, and then repeating. The theme of my work is the power of the cyclic nature of time. Each big jolt of our lives is a slow accumulation of small, repetitive actions. Time is not passing, we are. My works have gradually grown in static production and dynamic communication with the outside world. The combination of time and space has become to mean everything in my current works. The meaning of creation is both construction and deconstruction. What is created in time will also be slowly deconstructed in time. But the process of learning and practicing has become an irreplaceable core on this road. xiniaguan.com — @xiniaguan.jewellery
MARYLENE ESMY Jewellery Designer & Maker Tamil
Hijab Pin
Two waves earrings
Esmy’s work draws inspiration from her poetry based around aspects of her identity as a British-Tamil Muslim. She plays around with colours, patterns and forms to create contemporary jewellery pieces. @esmy.jewellery
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CODED GAZE [QR code unlocks Coded Gaze AR face effect filter on Instagram]
IBIYE CAMP Multidisciplinary Artist & Tutor Nigerian British Joy Buolamwini is a computer scientist and digital activist who coined the term ‘Coded Gaze’. This project explores facial recognition and the history of how it was developed and critiques the data-based rules humans have used to create algorithms that amplify inequities. The Coded Gaze filter explores the AI recognition systems and its failure to identify people of colour. Ibiye is a multidisciplinary artist and tutor. Her work engages with technology, trade, and material within the African Diaspora. She utilises architectural tools to create 3D models, sound, and video, accompanied by augmented reality. This is in order to highlight the biases and conflicts of technology. ibiyecamp.com — @ibiye_camp
LAURA ELSENER Multidisciplinary artist working with digital art, sculpture, and video Chinese, Irish and Swiss-German Laura Elsener is an artist navigating the space between humans and artificial intelligence through the lens of an intersectional feminist. Her practice includes digital art, sculpture, and video. In Local Machine, she is pursuing data justice as a means for co-liberation. We stand at the inflection of technological innovation fraught with fear and skepticism.
Doe no. 7
Machine learning and artificial intelligence are reshaping our society in ways that perpetuate historical biases and injustice. Homogeneity in the technology industry has created a one-dimensional landscape, one dominated by a narrow perspective of the world that can be ignorant to imperatives like fairness and inclusion. Algorithmic bias threatens fundamental human rights as AI is incorporated into our justice, education, health, and financial systems. ’I use art as a mode to explore how to construct a fair and just space with technology. My work reveals and combats AI biases by liberating algorithms from the weight of unjust histories and unjust data. I invite viewers to imagine a world where artificial intelligence is a champion for equity, bringing the voice and heart of the oppressed from the margins to the center. All my creations are born from a partnership between machines and humans in the right relationship with each other. I use models and algorithms to generate the building blocks for my artwork and transform the computer-generated pieces into powerful works of art. All of my work shares this dual creation process: part machine and part human.’ lclmachine.com — @local.machine
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PART MACHINE PART HUMAN
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AND
Horizons
Describe yourself? Like a horizon line, not there, not here. Indigenous, but didn’t arrive at the airport looking like a native Where do you fit in? I entered a box once, oozed and leaked out of it, not build for boxes … I am liquid A horizon does not belong A horizon hovers A horizon vs A boundary … I have an inner compass … My compass points to different norths …I am many truths, many identities flicker on the horizon We do not live in a map. Where are you then? Being... being there... I was here yesterday but was mostly with you, unknown object of my belonging I was here when my hands became cold, like I was back there in a cold winter, blowing breath into frosty morning I was still there when I remembered that embers fractalize glowing red I stayed in that memory longer, till I could smell fire smoke I am not fully here when I am speaking, forgetting my mother and her mother’s tongue At the tip of my tongue, my ancestors voices, horizons
FILEONA DKHAR Lens Based Media: Identity, Rootlessness and Indigenous Futurism Khasi Algorithms, animism, crafts, minecraft, bollywood, dreams, folklore, history, chaos theory, alternate realities, decolonization, resistance, world-building, reshaping, indigenous futurism, climate crisis; the list is ever updating and evolving. My kaleidoscopic interests blend into my identity as an indigenous woman. From this position, I map out my visual arts practice. fileonadkhar.com — @fileona.dkhar
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EMILY MOORE Painter Black British
Emily has defined her own term ‘wildness’ in contemporary painting, which she says speaks both to her approach within her practise but also suggests the state of contemporary painting through the lens of art history and its current context within the immediate conversations surrounding painting. emilymorestudio.com — @emily.moore7
Footprint 1
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IN CONVERSATION: KASSANDRA + ROXANNE Alongside being a multidisciplinary artist, you are also an advocate for Black representation in the field of jewellery.
Kassandra is a Black British Jeweller based in London who creates fine bespoke jewellery. On June 17th Kassandra wrote an open letter to the jewellery industry about the experience of Black Jewellers and Silversmiths and industry professionals, highlighting how current practices and systems limit accessibility/entry into the trade for Black people; and a five-point plan to help increase the visibility of Black Jewellers and Silversmiths in the industry and amplify their voices. Kassandra launched a Go Fund Me page (June 19th) to raise money for Black jewellers and silversmiths facing financial hardship. The fund has successfully raised £19,885 – exceeding the target. As a result of the open letter a number of organisations and individuals have been in contact with Kassandra to see how they might support or contribute to the changes highlighted in it. Your poetry is authentic, conscious and transformative, how often do you spend time in this creative space and where did this process of self-expression start? Since I was small, I have always created stories. Everyday I write notes and sketches of my observations, thoughts and stories. I feel just being a Black person, you are just born political by default. Every form of self expression as a Black woman in this society has to be constantly explored or negotiated. It can be exhausting at times. Being creative in different mediums helps my journey of self expression without censoring and limits. You mentioned that your first BA was not in art or or jewellery design, what inspired you to transition into jewellery? Yes, I did a psychology and sociology degree and did a Master’s in social research. I have always loved jewellery when I was little and did lots of beading, then it grew from there. I did several short jewellery courses and did a 6-week silversmithing course at a college in Kensington around 10 years ago – then my precious jewellery practice started from there. Do your poetry and jewellery combine? The short answer is yes. I feel that jewellery can be seen as poetry art. Jewellery evokes so much emotion and memories. Jewellery is often a subtle symbol of meaning for someone. I have always used poetic devices to infuse in my jewellery. In my ‘Fly me to Jupiter’ collection, I used the planet Jupiter in the collection for a symbol of boldness and self-exploration.
How do you negotiate between creating a brand and speaking up against racism in a predominantly white industry? It’s a daily struggle. Now that I am more known in the jewellery world, I am very careful about what I say in public. It's the irony of the ‘burden of representation’. I am careful not to be the ‘post child’ for Black Jewellers, I am only one Black Jeweller. There are so many Black Jewellers. I feel that I have to separate the brand and the person – I am working on this. I want to be known for my jewellery, not just for talking about humanitarian issues. I still feel the jewellery industry is very slow to act on supporting Black Jewellers. It’s disheartening- being part of an industry which has shown a lack of support to make things right. I love to see Black women being authentically represented, however in a time of BLM I question the call for representation. Have you ever had to question this? What does representation mean to you? The key word is authentic. This is why I started to advocate for Black representation in the jewellery industry. I was sickened and saddened by jewellery companies/jewellery designers being disingenuous with sudden their Black Lives Matter statement of ‘support’ (performative allyship) and ‘acts of solidarity’. It’s been months since George Floyd’s death. I haven’t seen much difference from a lot of the jewellery designers/companies who ‘vowed to do better’ with the black Instagram squares and cut and paste civil right quotes. Adding some black models wearing your jewellery is not representation or having a list of Black Jewellers in publications, it’s more than that. It's about explicitly demonstrating your values and consistently demonstrating anti-racist action. Not just something shoehorned to fit in existing initiatives or current trends. It is a real concentrated and sustained effort. Can we talk about empathy and what it means to have it for ourselves, other Black people and also non-Black people as we unlearn the current systems of oppression? To be honest, I never thought about empathy for ourselves as Black people. It seems that Black people have been overcompensating with empathy for non-Black people and racists. I think that is the default. That’s how I think Black people had to survive with colonialism and racism. I have to make time to reflect on the topic of empathy for ourselves. But I have learnt that I have more empathy for non-black people to unlearn the current systems of oppression recently – some people just started their journey last summer. There is a long way to go for Non-Black people to demonstrate their anti-racist practice – instead of just feeling anti-racist from time to time. As we are both grandchildren of the Windrush generation, I have to say the handling of Caribbean peoples in Britain recently has left me feeling unsafe and unwelcome. Can you relate to this feeling? How has it impacted your ideas of being Black and British?
In the past seven months you have opened many doors for Black Jewellers in Britain and elsewhere. What are some of the highlights?
It was a huge punch to the stomach. I am still bruised now. My grandparents came over here and suffered greatly to contribute to this country. My parents were separated from my grandparents while they were trying to make a better life and my parents were ‘sent for’ from Jamaica. It feels no matter how long I stay on this British soil – I will never be British or seen ever in that way. I applied for Jamaican citizenship recently.
The highlight of the last seven months is when jewellery designers around the world supported/contributed to the KLG Fund.
We spoke about identity and the reclaiming of your Caribbean citizenship, what inspired you to seek dual nationality?
Interview by Roxanne Simone
I think I had enough of Britain. I have done some ancestry tests, I am on my journey to find my roots. I have spent a lot of life making myself small in different spaces and keeping quiet about my roots and experiences of racism, all to make non-Black people feel easier and comfortable. It hasn’t got me anywhere, it just impacts my mental health more. I just want to go somewhere – be part of a country where I feel welcome and celebrated. How much inspiration does your heritage and identity have in your practice? I feel my heritage/identity has always been in my practice. However, over the last year, I have embraced it more publicly. I am not afraid to be pigeonholed and care about what people think. I am more comfortable to be Black publicly and to speak about it. What is ‘a day in the life’ of Kassandra Lauren Gordon entail? I am an early bird- so up around 5am. Most days I start with mediation, visualisations, journaling my thoughts, doing my affirmations, writing my gratitude list, and writing my intentions for the day. In the morning, I usually do jewellery sketches or free creative writing. In the daytime, I work on art direction for my creative practices, work on some art projects or talk to jewellery clients. Everyday, I am doing something jewellery related, something is always brewing. What is the most rewarding part of being a jeweller? When the client is super happy with the jewellery and tells me how much it means to them. Some clients turn into friends and I get invited to engagement parties and weddings – building real long lasting relationships means a lot to me. Let's talk about Black hair, I'm interested in your jewellery evolution and combining your recent projects centred around Black hair. Where is this self-expression and research taking you? I have evolved more into an art/conceptual jeweller with my jewellery aesthetics. I have been researching different Black hair styles and their meaning. Last year, I researched the history of canerows. I would like to highlight the significance of canerows. It is more than a trend. In transatlantic slavery times, the braid patterns of canerows (as in sugarcane) helped to construct messages between slaves and braid maps of routes to escape. Do you have any more wisdom for younger generations of Black creatives seeking to enter into the field? Have good, supportive and creative people around you. Believe in yourself. Don’t let anyone trample on your visions and dreams. Be your authentic self – always. Trust your gut. This can sound contrived, but it took me years to learn this. Better know this as soon as possible. Being a Black creative is hard in these streets! You need to build up your resilience.
KASSANDRA LAUREN GORDON Multidisciplinary Artist Afro-Caribbean klgjewellery.com @klgjewellery
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I was not made to be subtle
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ARTIST NAMED NOBODY Visual Artist & Law Student Black British / Black Afro-Caribbean
My name is Rae and I’m a 19-year-old self-taught visual artist based in London. I specialise in watercolour painting and sell prints of my work as well as other items that are printed with my artwork such as clothing and notebooks. I began teaching myself to paint at age 14 and have been in love with the craft of painting ever since. At the centre of my work are Black faces and themes that highlight the beauty of Black culture, history and identity. Too often, ‘Black art’ is also dehumanising to the very same Black people it aims
to empower in art, Black people are used as objects to tell stories about things like slavery, racism and black love. Whilst it is important for these issues to be discussed through the media of art, the exclusive inclusion of Black people in art only to tell such stories dehumanises the Black community as a whole and communicates the idea that Black people exist only to educate or provide a service to others. And as people, we are beautiful. artistnamednobody.com — @artist_named_nobody
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HER 1% BRITISH RING DISPLAYS HER ‘1% BRITISHNESS’
SIOBHAN WALLACE Jeweller White and Black Caribbean
Dazzled by the paradoxes and sensational events of our present time, we often look outward for guidance. Siobhan Wallace’s work is instead oriented inwards, utilising genetic and biological data to express the intricacies of exploring one’s cultural identity. Her 1% British ring displays her ‘1% Britishness’ as mined from her own biological dataset, and is as poignant as ever in the current sociopolitical climate and within the lived experiences of many. By making use of
the accessible aesthetics of name plate jewellery, Siobhan speculates on what aspects of ourselves we choose to display. There is much more to us than meets the eye. Text by Joannette van der Veer for GEM Z and the Works in Progress: Uncut Gems exhibition at 92Y shhhvonstudio.com @shhhvonstudio
THE ARRIVAL OF THE HMT EMPIRE WINDRUSH TO THE UK CHARLITA HALL Fashion Stylist & Creative Director Black Caribbean, British ‘Lita-Styles is a London-based brand led by Freelance Fashion Stylist and Creative Director Charlita Hall. She created this fashion project to showcase the influence of Caribbean culture across multiple generations in the UK. Featuring a collection designed by Black British Designer Tihara Smith, whose entire collection weaves beautifully into this concept entire collection weaved beautifully to this concept, speaking this truth and mirrored this very fact. The fantastic photographer Lewin and I decided that we would shoot with many references from the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush to the UK, shown in the form of actual newspaper articles from June 1948. The 2018 report from The Guardian exposes the Windrush Scandal, highlighting the enormous number of cases that the Home Office handled horrendously. Fashion Stylist and Creative Director: Charlita Hall, Photographer: Lewin, Photographer Assistant: Esmée, Hair Stylists: Cheryl Shaw, Stacey Hall MUA: Jacob Michael Bottomley, Elle Norrahs, Model: Roxanne Hall lita-styles.com — @lita_styles
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Locating the Personal
WHAT ARE THE STRUCTURES THAT GOVERN OUR COMMUNITIES AND BODIES?
MELANIE ISSAKA Visual Artist & Photographer African
Melanie’s practice aims to develop a social practice concerned with representation, history, and movement with reference to the intersectionality of race and gender, as well as exploring the materiality of print and lens-based media. ‘I am fascinated by printed matter and lens-based media. Recently, I find myself asking more questions about my place in the world; to what extent does my environment
inform my identity? What does it mean to be African, Black, British, and female? I am interested in the fluidity of identity: what are the structures that govern our communities and bodies? I see my images as notes to myself. My projects often begin with conversations and encounters at home or during walks through London. I use the camera to archive these moments and thoughts.’ @melo_onny
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WHISKEY CHOW: IN UNPRECEDENTED TIMES, RADICAL CARE IS CRITICAL Whiskey Chow is a London-based artist and Chinese drag king. Her art practice engages with broadly defined political issues and covers a range of related topics from: female and queer masculinity, problematising the nation-state across geographic boundaries, to stereotypical projections of Chinese/Asian identity. Her work is interdisciplinary, combining embodied performance with moving image and experimental sound pieces. Prior to moving to the UK, Whiskey was involved in feminist and LGBTQ activism in China since 2011. She began by contributing to and performing in ‘For Vaginas’ Sake 將陰 道獨白到底 (2013)’ (original Chinese version of The Vagina Monologues), and then went on to curate the first Chinese LGBTQ music festival, ‘Lover Comrades Concert 愛人同志 音樂會 (2013)’, Guangzhou. These experiences have made activism the core of Whiskey’s work and has deeply shaped Whiskey’s way of looking at the world. In this article, more about her work and activism will be discussed, alongside how her current workshop series ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ is offering safe modes of expression within lockdown. Whiskey sees her intersectional identity as a central point for connection, both in her art practice and creative facilitation. In Whiskey’s artwork, the intersectional layers of gender, sexuality, race, Asian and migrant identity cross over and blur. Whiskey sees her art making, curatorial practice and pedagogical approach as a whole, and as different aspects of her engagement with activism. She constantly reveals and negotiates with power dynamics and the dominance within systems, empowering people in less-privileged positions no matter whether they are audiences, students or community members.
reclaim the power and agency, and I equipped them with accessible creative tools, so that they could self-curate a body-scape by using their phone camera’. There was a screening within the workshop after the self-shooting of participants’ body parts, faces or private parts were not to be included. By moving the camera and wondering around, they looked at their legs, their belly, their toes, their feet, their body hair, their body shape and then reflected on male gaze, motherhood, sexuality awakening, anxiety of aging, the pressure of not having a muscular body, the frustration of having a body far from female masculinity, trauma from having Covid-19, and the weight of carrying the Black history. Followed by a collective reflection writing session at the end of the workshop, where they translated non-verbal communication into language, and read it out with their own voices and accents. This is a time of uncertainty, but this is also a time for positive and meaningful change. From a performance artist who heavily relies on physical material and space to a digital artist/ facilitator who further looks upon the social issues and subverts the power inequality, Whiskey intersects her social, political and pedagogic ambitions, with activist and therapeutic goals, and channels the suffering of vulnerable people into creative power to generate a healing space for them. BIO: Since 2017, Whiskey Chow received numerous invitations to perform at prestigious UK institutions, including Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Victoria and Albert Museum, Wysing Arts Centre and Museum of London.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the black, Asian, queer, migrant, cultural worker, freelancer communities in the UK all have been struggling with survival under the UK lockdown situation and policy. In response, Whiskey as a precarious migrant cultural worker herself, created the digital workshop ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ for migrant, queer, People of Colour or anyone who is in a marginalised position, inviting them to collectively self-curate the gaze towards their bodies. Zoom was optimised as a unique vehicle to address personal hardship caused by systematic hierarchy. She creates a vital and safe space for unseen bodies, providing a channel for participants to deal with memories, trauma, cultural heritage, marginalised life experiences, and collectively exploring the notion of a ‘home for soul’, given their bodies are not in their home countries. From her experience of working with the body in a performance art context, Whiskey believes that the individual body is a container holding stories and personal history. Unlike the social media — which encourages people to create enviable self-sexualised and self-spectacle images — Whiskey asks all the participants to keep their camera off, and invites them to talk through their experience and thoughts during the lockdown, as well as exploring the complicated relationship between themselves and their bodies. ‘This is a process to rehumanise the precarious, given the system does not fully value their lives’ Whiskey said, ‘I want to subvert privacy concerns about Zoom, and facilitate a safe space for personal/ intimate discussion. I want to listen, I want to open up a critical room to hold the unspeakable vulnerability. It’s a way for them to
In 2020, Whiskey launched, lead-curated and performed in ‘Queering Now 酷兒鬧 'as part of Chinese Arts Now Festival. Queering Now is a curatorial programme amplifying marginalised voices of the queer Chinese/Asian diaspora. Alongside Whiskey’s art practice, she teaches at the Royal College of Art (MA Sculpture, MA Digital Direction), She is also a Guest Lecturer at other UK institutions such as Sotheby’s Institute of Art and Bath School of Art, alongside EU institutions such as University of Oslo and University of Zurich.
whiskeychow.com @whiskey.chow
̔ I want to listen, I want to open up a critical room to hold the unspeakable vulnerability.’
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Photography: Georgia Reynolds
IYOBA: ‘CONGRATULATIONS YOU’RE HAVING AN EGG!’
ROXANNE SIMONE Visual Artist & Metalsmith Black African Caribbean British Metalsmith Roxanne Simone is a Black British visual artist working primarily within metal with a multi-disciplinary approach to contemporary craft. Simone's work focuses on the reimagining of diasporic identities, gender and the imperfect object. Simone’s research methods take on an autobiographical and autoethnographic route, enabling her to create through an anthropological lens. Simone’s metalwork explores the dismantling of physical and metaphorical boundaries within contemporary craft, object making, and representation. roxannesimone.com — @roxxsimone
‘Liquid gold is created by Iyoba’ That rust-coloured colostrum, the act of nurturing achieved. But she is not for occupying and fails to be healed.
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DOES THE JEWELLERY INFLUENCE THE BODY...
THE FEMALE FIGURE IN ART By Annie Huang
ISABEL DISTASSI Artist & Maker British-Brazilian My practice looks at the complexities of the body and its relationship with jewellery. By examining how delicate lines and bold mass can merge, my work interrogates the directionality of influence: does the jewellery influence the body or does the body influence the jewellery? My practice is self-reflective yet I hope that the ambiguous and fluid nature of my work provokes the feeling of curiosity and intimacy in others. Thus, the link between the body and jewellery continues beyond myself. I find it interesting that as soon as one uses her own body/the female body it becomes about the ‘man’. I want to provoke curiosity about oneself; ergo, I used my own body. But I realise that some people are not open enough to look past the purely physical aspects of the female form. isabeldistassi.co.uk — @isabeldistassi
At the start of my journey, I searched for a purpose and a meaning to my work. Subconsciously, I was already telling the story of my life through my pieces. Building connections, questioning connections and sometimes breaking connections. There are always two parts to the story. The black and the white, the yin and the yang, the tamed and the wild, the masculine and the feminine... Whilst wanting to merge two things together, I question the role that I have as a woman. Women in many past civilizations had the lesser role; women in many religious beliefs are second to men. In my journey of self-discovery, I studied the female figure in art and sculptures and became captivated by the so-called Venus figurines found in the Stone Age. These bulbous sculptures, with their exaggerated feminine parts became associated as objects of fertility and given the name ‘Venus’, the Roman goddess of beauty and sex. Later archaeologists concluded the figurines could have rather been representations of dead ancestors, as the drooping breasts and sagging bellies were more likely to resemble middle-aged women. I began comparing how women were represented across many historical periods and got an insight into the sociopolitics of each era. Bringing the concept to my work, I celebrated the natural curves of the female figure in a biomorphic structure that shows the unity between people, both women and men and nature. As contemporary jewellery pieces worn on the body, the holes and fractures depict the fragility in the secondary roles given to women. It is not my believe that women are better than men, just as how men are definitely not superior to women but that we should all strive for equality. Each pieces offers two contrasting traits that are ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ whether it’s in colour, form or material. We seek for a balance, a balance between the masculinity and femininity within oneself, a balance between men and women in society as well as, in nature. Nature fills the gaps; it reminds us that as a whole we have strength. The pieces are fragile and worn carefully on the body. They are not to be ignored; they have a presence and are a constant reminder of its journey.
ANNIE HUANG Art Jeweller South African-Taiwanese The organism grows through the nook and crannies to gently sit against the skin. It crawls up towards the neck, droops down off the ears or just protrudes off a piece of clothing. Although the pieces are celebrations of the female figure, they are often formed with two contrasting elements, the positive and negative or the masculine and feminine. anniehuang.co.uk — @anniehuangjewellery
Me + Mine
...OR DOES THE BODY INFLUENCE THE JEWELLERY?
ALEXANDRA LEESE Photographer & Director English and Chinese
My body. My limbs. My hair. My nose. My skin. My heart. My lungs. My breath. Much of what we are taught about ourselves as women is that our bodies are not ours. As if we are someone else's to keep, to define, to use, take pleasure in, and to hurt.
Loving our bodies is not as simple as it sounds, while we are still finding a home within ourselves. When we’re alone in nothing but our skin. While nudes have traditionally been used to display bodies for the pleasure of the male viewer, these images evoke the safety we feel when no one is looking. We do not produce images for the gaze of patriarchy or to compete with other women. We don’t seek to empower people — we know empowerment happens when we take control for ourselves. Across many regions and cultures, though nude portraiture does not represent every kind of body and beauty out there. This project is us sending nudes to ourselves — not
to be consumed, but to be revered. Each individual has a unique, evolving relationship with their body. What we have in common is being alongside one another on the path to loving our bodies how we choose, despite the battles we may face. So we dream along our journeys. We touch each hair, each fold, each wrinkle, and each scar, remembering that we belong to ourselves.
Written and co- written by Alexandra leese and Xoai Pham alexandraleese.com— @alexleese
SALTED CARAMEL Your firm grasp on my ethereal frame as I lie still, Listening to my erratic vice. Those soft, wavering thumps echo first through my head then as ripples through my body wave, Grounding me. Challenge the Conventions, 2020 TBRXStomachs, 2020
My pulse, in an endlessly impassioned frenzy since our initial divine encounter Steadies, trying to mirror yours with a stubborn tenacity. The Universe makes no mistakes. We are one entity, Experiencing in split vessels. Soft, Buttery, & Warm. Sweet, Like syrup. Inviting sheer comfort The smell, burns a lingering impression in my memories Infiltrating my dreams & gently waking me out of my sleep Resonating deep into my core With an ancient familiarity.... To conjure up more thoughts of you With vivid senses and a conscious mind I’ve met serendipity everyday since then; Once the floodgates are open the blessings pour in. I am at home in your scent… Real & Unadulterated Demanding my immediate, & undivided attention So strong, but I can barely taste it A yearning so great for the savory & sweet The perfect compliment Like salted caramel But warm Oh so warm… That’s most prolific The warmth that melts me from the inside out You’d think I’d had my fill but… It’s just never enough Zen... On the path of enlightenment In search of her muse, S. Buddha Chyna Bartholomew
NATASHA MULUSWELA Zimbabwean Visual Artist As well as challenging the perception of beauty and the diversity of the female body and in order to understand how perceptions of beauty work in society, I concentrate on the varying relationship between what it means to be different as a Black woman. I have chosen to submit two drawings which illustrate the beauty of the Black woman. One is a self-portrait in biro focusing on the stomach and stretch-marks. And the other is of a nude woman with her back turned to the viewer, completed in pencil and coloured pencils. Often, my work explores the diversity of beauty and body positivity whilst simultaneously shaking off the white gaze. artxnatasha.com — @npariss
CHYNA BARTHOLOMEW Creative Entrepreneur and Spiritual Doula Afro-Caribbean American I am the co-founder of a digital creative agency and incubator, iGEN Creative Consultants LLC, designed to develop entrepreneurs and their budding ideas into sustainable businesses led by impact-driven CEO’s. I am also deeply
immersed in energy work as a reiki and yoga teacher. Through radical love, shameless acts of self-care, and practicing rest, empathy, and compassion for myself, I demonstrate the limitless possibilities for a holistic life that is accessible to us all. I stand as a reminder that we can give ourselves permission to be our very best selves, and in doing so we change the world for the better. @aulle_naturale
ZAKIYAA SYRUS Entrepreneur British Caribbean I’m a lone parent to an awesome part of the universe, a boy that quite literally is everything to me and so I guess my practice or career is probably parenthood and everything else is secondary to that. As he grows I find out more about myself and where I really fit in the world.
I am ‘me’, I am ‘her’, I am ‘ us’, I am ‘we’, I am what you want me to be. I am the oppressed and the obsessed with, but no more because today, I am here - I am enough - I am truly blessed and worthy of greatness. Today, I am a whole woman in love with herself.
Poem I Am
Zakiyaa Syrus
Belonging and identity are the issues I have been dealing with since childhood. My life as a Taiwanese woman in Germany requires a frequent change of the roles I take on. A change that leads to intermingling. The jewellery is the result of my investment of energy and time. I translate my
thoughts, my story, and my perception of the outside world into material. The material takes on a new meaning in this process. And when I have new questions about my identity, I try to find the answers through jewellery making. Jewellery is thus a medium for me to communicate and connect with those who wear it. The piece of jewellery becomes a focal point between someone and me, it is a point of connection between the world and me. Photography by Marius Görner tzuyunhung.com — @tzuyun.hung
Identity 05 Necklace
TZU-YUN HUNG Jewellery Designer Asian
‘The Ghosts Of My Braids’ (2019)
DEREALISATION
REBIRTH
ANNA GIBSON Barbadian
Triggwer warning: mentions of r*pe
‘Rebirth: Masque I’ 2020
My art focuses mainly on exploring and exposing vulnerabilities women have about their differences to each other, and how they seek to physically mask or morph their bodies to achieve acceptance within their cultual, racial, and social environment. My recent paintings explore the process of evolving the physical self using various beautification methods. With references from plastic surgery procedures, beauty cosmetics, as well as jewellery, the self is presented transitioning into a hybrid body. annagibson246.com— @anner_er
‘THE GHOSTS OF MY BRAIDS’ (2019) BY EULALEE MAIR This collection titled The Ghosts Of My Braids was focused on exploring female on female rape through a variety of processes specifically fine art, jewellery and textiles. The collection consisted of several pieces: a spine and face mask (representing the rapist), a stool, a noose, a note and various sculptures of the vagina. All the pieces were designed by taking different diagrams of the female reproductive system and merging them together. Using tin foil combined with found objects, the idea was to create an ‘armour’ that was in reality very fragile, to reflect the feeling of dissociation following sexual assault. Dissociation is a fragile armour (or coping mechanism) that can be broken in an instant. Just like tin foil.
concepts: a padded cell and an old fashioned jewellery box. The idea behind this was that the memories are both protected and well kept like jewellery in a jewellery box, but also screwing and bouncing off the walls like a patient in a padded cell. The colour scheme of the collection and display offers further commentary on how female on female rape is perceived – not black and white but instead the is a lot of grey area. All of the pieces can be worn as jewellery or observed as fine art.
The found objects speak to the feelings of derealisation following sexual assault – the feeling that your surroundings are unreal and unrecognisable. The idea was that when you look at the pieces you wouldn’t see the objects at first, but on closer inspection different objects become recognisable, conveying that whilst living in an unrealised world there would still be moments of clarity. I used braiding throughout because hair keeps a record of substances someone has used and supposedly shows a lot about someone’s personality and thus wanted to transfer this concept to hair keeping a record of past events.
EULALEE MAIR Student Black British
Shaving my own hair off was, for me, a symbol of moving on and starting afresh and these decaying braids are the only record of the past – similar to a fossil or a ghost. In addition, braids and protective hairstyles are a key element of Blackness so I wanted to take this idea of braided protection and introduce it to my work as well. The display, of the set of the exhibition, for the collection was a series of velvet panels and divides which merged two
I am particularly interested in exploring the effects of sexual assault and rape through my work, centring the black woman/womxn’s experience. I am also queer identifying using, she/they, pronouns which has heavily influenced my work surrounding the reclaimation of female masturbation and sexuality as well as mental health. I also do a lot of work investigating the Black British experience and the disconnect between having grown up in a very middle class, white environment but with a working class, Black British, Windrush background and exploring those disparities through various media. @eulalee.studio
LEAP
INTO
Performance: Leap into the Earth
‘Gabe’s mission is to explore the complexities of intersecting identities that are the realities of millions of people’
CLÉMENTINE BEDOS Transdisciplinary Artist Mixed Black and Indigenous Clémentine Bedos (b. 1992) is a transdisciplinary artist with backgrounds in law, philosophy, and fine arts. Bedos explores personal and cultural histories through a processbased craft and site-specific performance practice. Her experimental and research-based outlook focuses on embodied technologies, to emancipate oneself from trauma bonds, and weave new forms of connections. Leap into the Earth was showcased on the 1st of January as part of Performing Dawn. The exhibition was curated by Tom Lovelace, to welcome 2021 with optimism, presenting an experimental display of practices positioned between performance, image, and the screen. Leap into the Earth arose from transhistorical rage. Drawing on the tradition of Tantra, the ritual performance explores liminality on both personal and collective level. Accompanied by Finchittida Finch, who held my hand along the way, the burial of the life-size ceramic cast of my adolescent body was collected by her benevolent gaze. clementinebedos.com — @clembedos
GABRIEL HUTCHINGS Multimedia Artist Filipino-American Gabriel (Gabe) Hutchings is a multimedia artist and student of Metropolitan State University of Denver who creates thought-provoking work that connects the spaces between culture, sexuality, and gender. Being a transgender man, Filipino-American, and pansexual has a large impact on his experiences in life and influences the kind of art he creates. Gabe’s mission is to explore the complexities of intersecting identities that are the realities of millions of people. gabrielhutchings.com — @gravityofgabriel
THE
EARTH
OGAY VALERIA Half Russian, half Korean ‘To emancipate oneself from trauma bonds, and weave new forms of connections’
The main topic that interests me as an artist is personal identification, which occurs through the acceptance of my memories associated with the past, which are not always rosy and happy. Re-experiencing the tragic moments of my life through the form of objects I create, I form a new alternative memory, an alternative non-reality, a new ‘magic pocket’ of my memory. In my practices, I turn to childhood and naivety as an example of an unclouded ‘experience’ look, change reality through the search for an inner, almost lost child. @ogay.ru
CAN OUR WOUNDS BE MADE GOLDEN?
SECOND GENERATION I am from the Catholics from a blood and body suffering and shame I’m cut from Brahminic cloth scented with sandalwood and jasmine dust and heat I speak altar, god, color, incense, ritual, feast, though none rolls from my tongue as a first language might I swim the briny bays of Cape Cod amid seaweed and sandbars scallops and razor clams I taste of the watery coffee
Can Our Wounds Be Made Golden
of church halls of glazed donuts, oyster crackers bazooka bubble gum of lace-edged dosa the chili-heat of chutney I’m born of silk and sunshine of safety pins and moths of spices so rare that they are sold by the gramlike gold and other longings I’m from the kind of ambition that leads to voyages across oceans the kind of ambition that leads to loss my rhizomes,
FIONA WILLIAMS Painter Black British
MAYA KINI Jewellery, Sculpture & Writer South Asian American
When translating a memory or a mood onto canvas, selection of colour and expression are key to Fiona. Decorative notes, inspired by her passion for textiles, help frame the psychological and emotional content often explored. In some of her most recent work Fiona has deliberately referenced classical painting, but the replacement of a white body with a brown or black one issues a deliberate challenge to the exclusionary, alienating strategies of the Eurocentric narratives she feels can often dominate the art world. fionajwilliams.com — @fionajwilliamsart
I am a child of an immigrant, a brown woman, born in Boston, making my life in the western United States. I am a mother, teacher, daughter. mayakini.com — @mkini
father plant, mother plant diabetes, cancer my blooms, the bearded iris that must rely on winter and the pungent ginger than can never know it.
Maya Kini
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Courtesy Of
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TSEPISO LEKGANYANE Artist Black South African
The First Time He Kissed a Boy
Courtesy Of explores and satirises colonialism and its current effects particularly around the English language which has long been a tool to oppress and erase the cultural identities of those that have been colonised. The colonial education system has forced us to value English above the many indigenous languages and has become a nonsensical measure of one’s intelligence. The brooch is anecdotal and comes from childhood memories of microaggressive racism I did not understand at the time. If you’ve been forced into a colonial education system, why would you not speak it ‘well’, what exactly does ‘speaking English well’ mean and how could that possibly be a compliment? This brooch is one part of a survival kit series. It is in two parts, with interchangeable phrases. The brooch is made in sterling silver and gold plated Tsepiso Lekganyane is a South African Native influenced by the socio-political history of her country. Tshepiso’s practice is centred around the human condition and examines and questions what identity means in certain places, spaces, and time. @terribleateverything
NATHAN KLEIN Fashion Designer Asian I was inspired by a teenage experience that left me questioning myself. A loss of innocence during adolescence, the moment before a teenage crush bursts its dam and becomes a fully fledged first love, this is a story about coming-of-age.
JOY JULIUS Fashion Designer & Illustrator Nigerian Joy Julius is a Nigerian fashion designer and illustrator. While growing up in Switzerland, she developed a great interest in the arts. This passion led her to London where she started studying fashion design at Kingston University, one of the most prestigious universities worldwide. During her year-long internship at Tommy Hilfiger, Joy developed her passion for illustrations. Her art is a source of self expression with the focus of portraying confidence and empowerment. @designbyjoyj
By using the art of fashion, I address social and cultural issues, which have a deeper and personal meaning for me. By telling personal stories through the vision of fashion I try to make people aware of what is currently important. Fashion can definitely be anything if you put your mind to it, but by all means there is nothing wrong with creating aesthetic pieces of art. The collection is aimed at young men just like me who are confident in being their authentic selves. A fusion between masculinity and femininity, creating a new tribe so to speak, this is a collection inspired by ‘men who love men who love boys who love boys who love men’. I call this collection, The First Time He Kissed a Boy. Photography by Walter Pierre nathanklein.nl — @nathanklein.xxii
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Regal in Blue
THE MAJESTY OF BLACK WOMEN
LEAH JEANNE ADAMSON Portrait Painter Mixed Black White Caribbean This series entitled Regal in depicts Black women in a classic portrait style. The series was created during the UK’s national Covid-19 lockdown alongside the rise of interest for black culture and Black experiences that sparked a lot of uneasy feelings for many Black women. Feelings of
needing to be strong, memories of never being accepted; never seeing their beauty as a standard to be upheld. Leah Jeanne Adamson wanted to create pieces that challenged the notion that black is not beautiful through simplicity. This series portrays women who have an air of regality about them. These portraits showcase the majesty of Black women. Even though the composition is simplistic she wanted the subjects to be the main focus.
Leah Jeanne Adamson is a South London-born artist who works primarily on portraits. As a Black woman, Leah’s work mainly focuses on how to portray the diversity and beauty of women of colour as she comes to terms with her own identity. She hopes that through her artwork more people can truly see the beauty of those who are not represented fully within mainstream media.
These portraits were created to empower Black women and to illustrate the beauty in the diversity of the Black diaspora.
Black Woman/ Womxn Artist Network @bwartist_ — @leahjeanneart/
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These are funny Nights
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TAISHA CARRINGTON Black/ West Indian/ African-Caribbean Visual Artist: Jewellery Designer ’This painting interrogates my feelings of isolation, hopelessness and uncertainty about what role I play at the intersection of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter Movement.’
Traditional Bridal Pendant, 2018, oxidised bronze, silk thread. Gabu-Keub Keub Project
Taisha is a multidisciplinary artist working in body adornment, performance, sculpture, painting, and installation. She investigates the liminality of life in the Caribbean after colonialism and into the Anthropocene. Taisha invents ‘devices’ and uses performance as a means for self-healing and facilitation of dialogue about climate and current social issues while proposing methods for rebirth, reclamation, and reimagining the value of Caribbean people and communities. She currently lives and works in Barbados. taishacarrington.com — @taisha_carrington
EMILY BECKLEY Jeweller Language Groups: Meriam Mir, Kala Lagaw Ya Place of Birth: Thursday Island, Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia, Sabagorar
Emily Beckley is an artist based on Horn Island, Torres Strait Islands, Queensland. She belongs to the language groups Meriam Mir and Kala Lagaw Ya. A trained painter, Beckley’s work in painting is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia. Beckley’s art is often concerned with reviving and maintaining cultural practice from her Meriam Mer ancestry. She draws on her experiences, along with the stories and history of her culture as told by her parents from the Meriam – Samsep of Mer and Panai of Mabuiag, to create works in metal as a way to connect the past to the future. Photography by Melinda Young @theindigenousjewelleryproject
I DON’T REALLY ̔ PERFORM’, NOT FOR ANYBODY FASHION COLLECTION ZZX - The mixed team by Dana Lipka in collaboration with Dancers from Bad Attitude Germany & Liveness Crew Dana Lipka
Acaba de comenzar, Necklace. Brass, acrylic paint, silk. 2020
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In this collaboration with dancers, I researched if we can overcome the imbalance of celebrating hip-hop as a trend and not considering urban dances such as the `Krump` as an equally legitimate part of high culture. LIPKA is a multidisciplinary men and womenswear brand, which stems from the designer’s upbringing in a family of sportsmen. Looking at the connection between identity and how we celebrate national pride in the world of sports, early modern Olympic games played a tremendous role. It was allowed for individuals to be from different nations, but united in one team. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) grouped their results under the ‘mixed team’ designation with its code ‘ZZX’, whereas GER stands for Germany or NED for the Netherlands. MELENA TORTOH Dancer Ghanaian roots No matter how good you are, no matter where you come from, there's a place for you in the dance community. It's about belonging. SIRYEL CHTIOUI Dancer Tunesian roots In particular I've been mesmerised by the diversity I only seem to find in the dance community and its endless possibilities to exchange with others artistically. My goal is to introduce Krump to the youth, but especially to young women, who aren't often represented in the culture. With a friend I started a platform called 'What moves you?' WILLIAM VENOUS Dancer Togolese Dancing means a lot to me because it is another way to express myself, break out of the usual, and feel free. Moreover it is a way to see the world, connect with other people and to grow together. OBIVAN Dancer Nigerian roots I don't really 'perform', not for anybody. I'm just expressing who I am. I want to grow, to become better. That's what drives me to practise. Even if training does happen in a space, it's always about development, about growth and not about performing. RUBICON KYEI Dancer Ghanaian roots Since about 14 years I've been part of the dance community/scene and when I saw Krumping for the first time it fascinated me immediately. The movements, the steps, but most of all the opportunity to express my feelings in this form of art.
MARU LÓPEZ Jewellery Maker, Educator and Writer Puerto Rican of mixed ancestry El verano candente y revolucionario del 2019. That’s how people on the island call it. Two weeks of streets flooded with Puerto Ricans screaming and yelling the anguish of years. Directly the protests were asking for the resignation of the Governor, but the fire that fueled the intensity was years in the making. In 2017 Hurricane Maria hit, leaving in its aftermath an island destroyed and an unofficial but well documented number of 4,645 dead. The fragility of the island, which was a crucial factor in the devastation, was a product of countless years. El problema es la colonia. Puerto Rico is one of the oldest colonies in the world, having suffered colonialism from 1493 to the present. Since 1898 it has been under the government of the United States. Years of colonialism and corruption, poverty and lack of resources, crumbling infrastructure and an economic depression due to an unpayable debt that has brought extreme austerity measures were the fuel of the summer protests. A leaked private chat where the Governor and his cronies talked without censure and showed their awful true colours sparked the fuel into a raging fire. Bodies filled the street as millions demanded the resignation of Ricky Rosello (the governor). From marches, to poetry readings, to horseback rides, scuba divers, jet skiers all conceivable forms of protests happened in those two weeks. All filled with music and dancing in an occupation of the streets, a carnival of opposition. Amongst these the Perreo Combativo cause a furor like no other. Perreo, a popular way of dancing much criticised by conservatives in the island and elsewhere, is a sensual and very provocative way of
dancing perfect for the bodily display of protesting and very attuned to the general atmosphere of these protests in particular. On the night of the 24th of July LBTGQ+ students invited all to go perrear in the streets of Old San Juan. Thousands flooded the streets and in the sweltering humid Caribbean summer and the perreo combativo began. Of the thousands a dancer in a Puerto Rican flag bikini became iconic. The dancer was part of a group that had convened in the steps of the Cathedral, and it became their stage. Hours later the governor resigned. My piece is based on a beautiful photo by Puerto Rican photographer Daniela P. Romero, who documented much of the protests. As a Puerto Rican in the diaspora and based in San Diego, California it has been hard to watch from afar the events in my island these past years, so it is through my making that I connect and participate in its evolving narrative. My medium is jewellery, giving me the ability to use the iconography of this protest in daily everyday life as a talisman of power and a reminder of the power that collective out of the box strategies can have. mariaeugenialopez.com — @marugenia2
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DOMINIQUE RENÉE Jewellery Designer African American Dominique Renée sassily explores personal experiences. ‘Produced from a playlist of emotions’, each collection is brought to life by a carefully curated playlist. Inspired by everything from heartbreak to loving again, alienation and self love, Dominique Renée seeks to empower women by creating pieces that are real and relatable just like the music that inspired the work. At a young age I discovered that I had a love for music and art, and that I wanted to create. After high school I decided to go to college for Graphic Design, but soon concluded that my heart wasn’t in it. My dreams of being a designer were stifled only by the feeling that I might not have ‘what it took’. Then I started designing my own nails because I couldn’t find salons that were able to do what I wanted done. When my nail art started to turn heads everywhere I went, I realised it was time to go for it. What did I have to lose? After premiering my first press on nail collections, I expanded my line to offer jewellery and other accessories.
I KNOW Earrings & Not Alone Rings
Photography by Stacie Buhler dominiquerenee.com — @dominiquerenee
‘PRODUCED FROM A PLAYLIST OF EMOTIONS’
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Blueberry Forest 2020
I HAVE FOUND CONNECTIONS AND CALMNESS BOTH WITH MYSELF AND OTHERS
EBBA HÄGNE Multidisciplinary Illustrator and Designer Chinese and Swedish (Asian and white)
Despite feeling very at home with drawing in the more conventional sense, I also love exploring my illustrative narrative through textiles, films, installations and much more. Growing up in China but moving later to Sweden as a late teenager, has left me feeling as though I live in between two very different worlds, in a no man’s land. However, I find my creative practice to be the perfect instrument to transform this isolating space into a world of empathy,
acceptance and surrendering. By telling stories about my own vulnerable feelings in this imaginary and dreamlike world, I have found connections and calmness both with myself and others. For me, it is a world you can fold into a paper aeroplane and keep in your pocket, hide under your pillow, or throw out your window. ebbahagne.com — @ebbahagne
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GAYLE EBOSE Portrait Painter Black British Treating women in portraits as the object of God’s affections, not the object of our own. There are so many intricacies that can be dealt with in portraiture. We can find the talk of subjectivity finely interwoven into a distant gaze or a gentle smile, or the back stories of histories found in the hues of one’s skin. You can read whatever you will into the face of the sitter, but the truth is your environment and its subconscious messages have fed you with many beliefs about others around you whether you know it or not. One of the belief systems we have assimilated as a culture, perhaps even the human race at large, is the idea that we as individuals are the objects of another human being’s affections. And in fact, we are, but of a greater being than we initially thought. You see we are the apple of God’s great eye. We ought to live for the applause and the esteem of One. This gaze, His gaze, is not intimidating or brash, but is inviting and alluring. His arms are opened wide and we are accepted because He made us in His image and His likeness. He sacrificed His life for us so that we might live and blossom and bloom to the fullest of our being. All that we have and all that we need to be is already in us – why seek the affections of others? Or why allow other gazes to distinguish and validate our very selves? It is a complex thought, but a simple one simultaneously; the only gaze that truly matters is the loving gaze of our eternal, living Father who dwells in the heavenly realms and in the invisibilities of everything visible. Do you believe that?
[QR code links to a guided Qigong session with Cindy Võ]
Bola, 2020
Gayle Ebose uses the process of portrait painting to encapsulate the joys and mundanities of everyday Christian living in the 21st century. Her portraits serve as a way to preserve the testimony of how God sustains His people, transforms their character and equips them for life as sojourners on earth. This inquiry places both Ebose and her subjects telling their story at the centre, navigating life’s experiences through the body and skin they are in. Her work reflects on the beauties and intricacies of motherhood and femininity, the trials of illness, and the frailties that come with an ever-changing and ageing body. The subjectivity of her portraits gives them agency, they are conversational and unapologetic in their presence. Each invites us to contemplate our own existence and inner wellbeing and points to the wonderment of God and how He fearfully makes us in His image. gayleebose.com — @gayle.ebose
Qigong is an ancient Chinese practice and holistic technique that involves coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation for the purpose of health, vitality, longevity, spirituality, and inner alchemy. Qi is defined as the ‘life force energy’ that emanates in all things material and non-material. Thus, Qigong is an energy cultivation practice that allows one to harmonise the spirit, body, and breath to achieve ‘oneness’. Practicing Qigong has positively influenced my life by allowing me to live in the Tao, which translates
CINDY VÕ Multi-dimensional Artist, Movement Artist & facilitator of healing Vietnamese-American As a Queer Vietnamese-American woman, navigating my identity has always been multi-faceted and an ongoing evolution of unlearningand reclaiming my truth. I’ve always had an affinity for exploring my human potential through practical spirituality and mindfulness. This has led me towards my passion for energy medicine, particularly Qigong. I am the creator of You Are Magik, a wellness hub dedicated to [w]holistic healing arts, integrative bodywork, energy healing, Qigong, inner alchemy, reiki infused jewellery, divination, and offering practical tools to assist folx towards igniting their inner power. I am passionate about creating safe and sacred spaces to make wellness and healing accessible for BIPOC LGBTQIA+ communities. cindyvo.com — @cindyvoyages
to ‘going with the flow’, and embodying the natural flow of the universe’s rhythm. As Nikola Tesla states, ‘If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.’ As energetic beings, we all have the ability to tap into our inner divinity and utilise that power towards living in our truth. I feel immense gratitude for this ancient practice that has allowed me to step into my whole self.
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Lostness in Oyinbo town, Photomontage
YOUR STEREOTYPES ARE SADLY DATED... MARIONELLA HANLEY Fashion Designer Creole Black Caribbean, Indigenous Caribbean and Chinese Caribbean spark.adobe.com/page/N8vJTKKWcwM9g/ @marionella_hanley
TOMILOLA OLUMIDE Visual Artist Nigerian, British The vibration of sounds and environment translate into form and texture that instruct hands to nudge on and create the grooves on plaster and malleable bodies, and on fabric drawings of too many wraps, folds, plaits and twirls.
Fashionfest 2019
At a time in Ibadan when Grandmama taught us to knit with broomsticks not because we were poor, but honestly to improvise because she didn’t have that many at home, it was practical; afterwards, we made tea biscuits and it was grand. tomilolaolumideart.com @tomilolaolumideart
MELANIE MCPHERSON (MMNYC.STUDIO) Jewellery designer Black
Photography by Elijah Dominique etsy.com/shop/mmnycstudio — @mmnyc.studio
Case of the ‘S’
Being a first generation american woman allowed me to see the world through multiple lenses, it’s helped me cultivate joy in finding the beauty in obscure details and bridging worlds together. Jewellery is my medium of storytelling. Much of my work is inspired by the way black women adorn themselves while utilising elements of pop culture and philosophy.
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EVE LAM Jewellery Designer Chinese Look at me one more time I see my practice as a rejuvenation for unwanted objects, like a rebirth centre, leading these found objects and rejected mass-produced products to a chance for a new lease of life. At the same time, it challenges viewers' open-mindedness. evelam.xyz — @evelam.xyz
LISTEN TO ME SCREAM I am exhausted My skin colour is tainted My eyes are slanted My passion for rice is implanted I am carrying my heritage 24/7 unavoided Eastern culture has been exploited Culture appropriation is heated hated Your stereotypes are sadly dated So I can tell our futures are brightly painted My works are not Chinese culture inspired You seem disappointed but the world need to be confronted
AROUND THE WORLD GIRL HOOPS AYESHA SUREYA Jewellery Designer, Artist British-Indian
Around the World Girl Hoops
My work comments on the beauty of, but also tangled identities around, being a British Asian womxn. Through the exploration of my home, identity, and the community around me I’ve found translating this all through the subject of jewellery comes with spirited and personal outcomes that further interoperate the intimate narratives that jewellery already stands for. My pieces, that I’ve defined as acts of story telling through the re-appropriation of Indian myths and in places, stereotypes; are further enhanced through the desire to adorn ourselves. ayeshasureyajewellery.com — @aayesha.sureyaa
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INNER
GAZE
TARA VELTING Artist and Jewellery Designer 1/4 Papua, 3/4 white (Dutch)
‘Star Gaze’ ink on paper
I’m a mixed non-binary artist who loves to design characters. When I create I like to make it for one of my characters, or to (re) design and create a character. Apart from that I love animals, and I often depict octopuses in particular because they are my favourite animal. I create what interests and stimulates me, which is subject to change. I love to create things by my own hands and to learn crafts. To always learn and be able to create and do what I couldn’t before. taravelting.wixsite.com/home — @vvinslow
Charlotte’s approach to creating painting, sculpture, and digital art is as unburdened as can be. With bold and playful use of colour, form, and gestural mark-making, she creates landscapes and abstracted narrative illustrations, exploring emotion through process. charlottemei.com — @charlottemei_
Communication of Sentiment - My Phone
CHARLOTTE MEI Artist and illustrator Half Chinese, half British
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The Chibok Girls
SABINA AWUNI Painter Black British Focusing primarily on portraiture, her bold compositions place blackness at its center. As the artist explains, ‘For me, my art is my diary. It is simply me having an honest conversation. As such, the themes range from the importance of freedom and love to black rage and anger. In having these visual conversations, I want to encourage black people to know it’s okay to simply be. I want them to know whatever form of themselves they chose to show the world is okay.’ @sabinasilverx
BLACKNESS AT ITS CENTER AMIRA AYAD Jewellery Artist & Teacher Egyptian Muslim Amira aspires for her art to have the power to change the ways people think and express dissent, a tool for challenging the status quo, and a voice for thoughts on the human condition. @amiira.ayad
CAN YOU READ THE CUP?! The whole story started with an ordinary security man, sitting lonely all day long. Bored, watching people come and go, coffee was his only resort! It was his sole and special companion… Can you read the cup? is part of my Turkish Coffee collection, built on the idea of telling one’s fortune from a coffee cup. Each cup of coffee kept him alert, anticipated, curious, and hopeful; he wonders what is his cup of coffee going to convey today? With Turkish coffee, the grounds are what tell the story! They say it connects you with your future. A good reader will see many things, from people and animals to symbols and inanimate objects. By combining these images, the fortune teller weaves the story of your days to come... connecting your present with your future!
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MARGINAL (now read it again … but in Spanish) How easy it is, to adopt preconceived notions of what a Latinx should look like, speak like or even eat like. ‘You don’t like tequila?’ they’d ask. You don’t eat spicy food? I bet you’re super feisty loud dramatic. Must be from all of the novelas I never watched. And maybe I’ve used all of the above as synonyms for myself to make it easier for you to designate everything that I am into a column, and I’m still not sure if that’s your fault or mine. I see you: cross-examining my identity. Challenging the way I self-identify. Perhaps it would be easier for you if my skin were a shade browner or my accent a little thicker.
My work isn’t meant to be ‘cute’ or to be used in your company's mood board or marketing agenda. My work is about years of feeling displaced on both sides of the border; it’s an attempt to find a surrogate identity that peacefully flows between cultures: tools as nonverbal communicators between myself and others. Not for your pinterest boards. Not for your book covers who fail to give me credit. And in a time where pronouns are being challenged, I question what it means to be female. A Mexican-American female, i’ve always felt uncomfortable in dresses or tight clothes, I wore tennis shoes to quinceañeras in highschool, suits to formal events and most recently, clothes that obscure the curves of my figure, muffling the screams of my Latin descent. The ripples and arches of my body are sore from all of the ‘accidental’ strokes of strangers fingers. My ears clogged from all of your syrupy ‘sweeties’ and ‘darlings’. The pink in the background is meant to be ironic, not a trending pastel hashtag.
When I was younger, I found myself googling: ‘what is Chicanx?’ ‘Am I Hispanic or Latinx?’ In which whitewashed definition do I fit in the most? My artwork has always been about the exchange of cultures. Living in the border area of Juárez/El Paso has resulted in an infinite attempt to ‘connect’: a push and pull of both my Mexican and American humanism. ¿Cual seré más? Which am I less of? Because at the age of 33, I still don’t know.
How easy it is, to adopt preconceived notions of it all. Porque no soy tu niña ni tu reina ni tu muñeca. I won’t be reduced to an [un]checked box in your application. Redefining your ‘understanding’ of what it means to be Latinx or Chicanx is not my responsibility, but perhaps we can begin with something small. Like the correct pronunciation of my name, for example. Haydee - not Heidi. Haydee- like eye-they, but drop the ‘y’.. No, not eye-the, either. Eye-the[y] Perhaps the Y is silent, or dropped mid way More like Eye-thegh? Haydee Not Heidi Not Haidi
HAYDEE ALONSO Multidisciplinary Artist Hispanic/Latinx A border has a very definitive purpose: it separates the thing that is not us or it builds a bridge between yours and mine. The delineation in space and geographies has stimulated a body of work where two beings interact in a predesigned set of dynamics. Opportunities to speak my mind in regards to the personal experiences that led to the creative work that I produce are: scarce.
Haydee. Even my n a me is stuck mid way.
Staying silent or saying what white people wanted to hear was comfortable for me. Staying silent and saying what Mexican people wanted to hear was comfortable for me. It was like having a double-edged sword I didn’t know how to use or put away. It’s somehow comforting to know that the curatorial team are women from underrepresented communities that share the same notions of interconnectedness and identity as I do. Thank you for forging new spaces. haydeealonso.com — @ayayayd
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DM CONVERSATION: CUERVO NEGRO + FINCHITTIDA FINCH I am a Chicanx artist currently residing on Nisqually Land creating pieces focused on anti-colonialism, regaining my Indigenous roots, and keeping the fires of hope and rage alive in the hearts of all those resisting oppression. My beadwork is a direct act of reclamation of my ancestry, shining a light on traditions my family has left behind in the face of white supremacy. @cuervo.negro_
Artist working with beadwork and pen + ink drawings Ancestral lands of Ireland and Coahuila saguaro Land Back
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BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY INTO ONE’S SELF But in the last few years, life has taken the form of a ceremonial medicine, potent enough to open our eyes, and reveal the true nature of all things. According to Hindu tradition, Shiva, the god of creation and destruction, needs only to open his third eye to destroy the universe. It is an ancient allegory for what exists beyond the veil of deceit and the disillusionment of our ignorance. In the Tower, we observe a world thrown into crisis. Pain, sorrow, and grief lying in the backwash of the soul’s evolution. However catastrophic it may seem, it is an experience that precedes cycles of growth and expansion. The Tower only intervenes with our lives to help us release what we would have otherwise held onto. It is the beginning of a journey into one’s Self that is riddled with darkness and uncertainty. Here, we must navigate a liminal space between an old way of being and an uncharted way forward. Like a forgotten memory, the Hermit slowly emerges from the shadows of the psyche. It appears that whatever was engulfed by the underworld has found a renewed form in this mysterious figure. Their hand holds a lantern with a star bright enough to illuminate the whole of the cosmos and to evoke a source of guidance buried deep within our bones. We associate the astrological sign of the Virgo with the autonomous and interdependent nature of the Hermit. The truth of the Virgin is not in a vow of chastity, and instead is a gross-misinterpretation of the latin word virgo which describes ‘a woman who is whole unto herself.’
ANANDA MILEA Self-taught Diviner, Writer, Woman, Mother, with a relationship with the Tarot. Filipino, Chinese, Spanish
As artists, healers, and change-makers, we ‘subvert the gaze’ by turning it inwards and empowering our most invaluable inner-resources: wisdom, creativity, and intuition. We use these gifts to uplift and encourage one another as we journey into an unknown future together. anandamilea.com — @_anandamile
COLLECTIVE TAROT READING The Aeon is a dawn of a new paradigm; a celebration of greater harmony and spiritual integration. Lon Milo Duquette, author of Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, writes: ‘Aeons change, not as the result of some war in heaven or astrological event. Rather they are simply the consequences of some improved modification in human consciousness.’ Crowley himself referred to the Aeon as the ‘Age of Horus.’ Horus, sun god of the Egyptian pantheon and descendant of Osiris and Isis, brings his Light to humanity after a period of darkness.
A similar metaphor for this change in ideology is given by Plato and his allegorical prisoner, who, after ascending from the darkness of the cave, is blinded by the sun and turns away ‘to take refuge in the objects of vision which he can see and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him.’ Maybe the future isn’t as desolate as we believe it to be. Perhaps it is our renewed vision still attuning to the Light. This is to say: All that is living in deceit is destined for Death. All that ends in its Truth will be reborn anew. Our perception of reality will ultimately win in the battle between the narrative of control and the sovereignty of our collective consciousness. As children born into a fear-dominated culture, many of us were taught to overlook our most visceral instincts and to instead look toward institutions of power and authority for guidance.
Far Fire - Baby
Early humans believed the sun died each night as it disappeared along the horizon and that some mysterious force caused its power to weaken each year. Eons of observation and testimony eventually lead us to our scientific understanding of the Earth’s planetary rotation relative to our orbit around the sun, as well as the different solar-cycles throughout the seasons.
QIN XU Metal & Jewellery Designer Asian This piece is from a series of works inspired by a heartbreaking Australian fire in early 2020. Wouldn’t it be helpless and sad for people to see their family members and friends die as those animals experienced the fire? The scorched animal corpse curls together like babies in the womb. The crimped body connects the passages of death and birth. @quin_xu
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Bittersweet [papaya flesh, calf skin and baby’s breath]
I’M STILL A BABE DON’T YOU KNOW, SO DON’T EAT MY SOUL ‘I’M BITTERSWEET’ I SAID.
FINCHITTIDA FINCH Multidimensional artist and Alchemist Laotian-British
Finchittida channels healing through the visceral vessels of hand-carved fruit, poetry, performance, installation and ritual. She is trained in the ancient art of fruit and vegetable carving, a homage to her SouthEast Asian ancestors. Finchittida mixes traditional and contemporary art forms to explore the bonding and breakage of lifecycles and auto/biographical narratives, in order to heal personal, ancestral and ecological wounds. Her current body of work centres around trauma and transformation, embodying her own personal journey of inner alchemy. Through her practice Finchittida seeks to transmute darkness into light for the collective healing of people and planet. finchittida.com — @finchittida