Issue 65 | www.fokus.org
Atiba T. Edwards, Founder & Chief Curator
Atiba is an engineer focused on making and connecting creative people through moments so that they can impact their own world.
Shani Cohen, Curator
Shani is a Brooklyn based writer who believes in uniting our diverse communities through art and the power of words. INSIGHT is a digital art magazine that showcases creatives from all disciplines. Based on the concept that art defines cultures and civilizations, we provide insight into the artists who are shaping our culture through their work today. Curated to provide insight on those who are creating art in their own way.
INSIGHT: Emergence
Cover Art: Butterfly Migration by Hagop Belian Contributing Artists: Devvy Branch • Olamide Bakare • Hannah Bailey • Hagop Belian • Emel Çevikcan • Atiba T. Edwards • Eniafe Tobi Jamiu • Sky Hill • Eniafe Tobi Jamiu • Sanch Kay • Jillian Kron • RGM • RSK • Debby Smith • Eva Sturtz • Ela-Maria Vultur
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Questions, comments and contributions can be sent to insightsubmit@gmail.com. To view past issues of INSIGHT, visit www.fokus.org/insight. Copyright © 2021. INSIGHT (ISSN 2164-7771) is a publication of FOKUS, Inc. All rights reserved on entire contents. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.
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RSK Ela-Maria Vultur Atiba T. Edwards Jillian Kron Eva Sturtz Sky Hill Emel Çevikcan Eniafe Tobi Jamiu Sanch Kay Hannah Bailey Olamide Bakare Debby Branch RGM
Eruption Emerging Interactions Synergy with Hagop Belian Tree Ring Mandala 3 Metamorphosis & Does It Mean Enough New Body & Nude Watercolor series Awaiting & A place called hope Conversations on Leftover Coffee Stains DRAWING BLOOD A New Africa American Film The Text Message
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Eruption RSK
After evolution comes eruption, Your body must spew the person it once knew Hot lava pierces the skin of the new version of you. Remembering heat is needed to mold You might look shine and new But oh, how it scorched you. No one ask the shine men Who he was before, No one ask new money What is like to be poor Capture & store it in your core Let it boil Cause once evolution, No, eruption is no more, You are done for, Dormant is death Compliancy feels like theft There is so much life is left When you forget & your body feels with anxiety Remind it that volcanoes create islands
RSK is a vulnerable and honest artist that utilizes personal essays, poetry, and burlesque to breakthrough all the walls that the enemy says make her unworthy. She is a fluid, finessing, fat, womanist and herbalist that practices ancestral veneration. 4 | www.fokus.org
Emerging Interactions
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Ela-Maria Vultur
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Existential angst
In these artworks, I wanted to explore different types of interaction (between the seawater and the flames, the seawater and the sand, someone’s scream and broken glass, an orchard and the wind, snow land and the ocean litter). It’s a continuous battle between the two or multiple parts, with new connections emerging every time. As the cycle repeats itself a new beginning emerges every time. 6 | www.fokus.org
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In-between
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Between snowland, frozen waterlilies and the litter in our oceans 8 | www.fokus.org
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In the wind
Ela is a 23 years old self-taught artist with a background in architecture. With a passion for textures, layers, colors, and the unusual, she enjoys experimenting and creating abstract artworks; depicting her emotions and impressions. www.fokus.org | 9
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Synergy
Interview by Atiba T. Edwards with Hagop Belian
What did you learn about your art practice during your reduced social interactions these past few months? I learned that art can be whatever I want it to be. It can be my healer, my sanity, my salvation, my escape but most of all it is my teacher because of its ability to reflect back to me my own truth and honesty - showing me exactly where I am at. It helps me express more than words can about how I am feeling and what I believe in. It is also very humbling to experience creativity as an energy that comes through to collaborate with me in the expression of a feeling. Access to that infinite field is something that is granted and therefore something that needs to be respected.
How do you see the intersection of creating art and the benefit of people seeing your art in person? There is definitely a different type of intimacy that happens when experiencing art in person. A lot of the subtle nuances get lost in a photo or through the digital distributions of the artwork. Artworks are portals to different worlds and dimensions. Experiencing artwork in person, you experience and interact with the energy that emanates from the work. There are also lots of details such as depth, layers and marks that get lost in the digital realm. Again, there are moments that the artists has with the work that leaves a residue of energy, like an imprint of intention that can only be felt in the presence of the work.
Your works often are compositions of many other forms into one singular one. Can you talk a bit more about that process and source of inspirations that drive this style? For me life is about synergy, the sum that is greater than the sum of its part is a motto that ripples through so many aspects of who I am and what I do. Every strong organization or team is comprised of many individuals working together to form a dynamic and strong entity. Since my work is about humans meeting their spirit animal, there is an underlying theme of transformation and synthesis that fuses together different aspects of rebirth and evolution. This not only takes form visually but also mentally and metaphysically. 10 | www.fokus.org
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The source materials of my work come from books that date anywhere from 1500’s-1800’s. Before humankind learned to read we depended on word of mouth or on visual symbols to express meaning, to learn, and to communicate ideas. By using images from different centuries, the dialogue of communication is deeper and more layered because it has spanned a multitude of generations and has the potential to resonate with more people and cultures. There is also the synergy of collaborating with artists of the past. When I use parts of an artist’s work, It feels like a natural exchange. The artist gets to be seen again and communicate their work with newer generations and have an opportunity to have their work placed in a new context: what you could call a “recycling of history.” www.fokus.org | 11
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How did synergy manifest itself with your recent works? It was very interesting how synergy manifested itself in my latest collection because it really caught me by surprise. I knew that the main exploration of the body of work was going to be in color. All the images came from different sources of colored pages and created a cohesive story and expression. It was all working great but I felt there was a missing link in some of the pieces. 12 | www.fokus.org
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I was reading a book on shamanism and there was a section talking about how one of the ways a shaman infuses their energy into an object is by weaving and embroidering their intention with prayer and turning the item into a power object. The embroidery becomes a physical manifestation of the work from the other dimensions. I realized that I needed to literally and physically connect the layers and that the color does not need to necessarily come from an image or any sort of pigment. That is when I had a light bulb moment and I introduced the embroidery aspect to some of the pieces. www.fokus.org | 13
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The embroidery was a new technique that I had to learn and it took me a second to find my groove with it and understand its nature and how it wanted to work within my narrative. It pushed me into having more ceremonial interactions with the pieces and on some level leave more of myself into the work, in some cases even my own blood from the needle punctures.
How can art play a role in blurring or removing the line between fantasy and reality? Imagination is the key ingredient to the expansion and advancement of our world because of its ability to create the possibility of hope. And where there is hope there is an opportunity for transformation and change. Art allows us to exercise the muscle of imagination to help people break down the walls of separation and gain new perspective on life in the hopes of planting the seeds of fantasy in the realm of reality allowing the synthesis to create a new vision for a better and diverse world.
Complete the phrase “Art is...” Art is power. 14 | www.fokus.org
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View more of Hagops work at on Instagram @madeofhagop or on his website: www.madeofhagop.com. www.fokus.org | 15
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Tree Ring Mandala 3 Jillian Kron
Jillian Kron is a printmaker and painter engaged with folkloric and mythological narratives. Through relief-tradition printmaking and various media explorations, she incorporates repeating units and patterns found within biological structures, emphasizing aspects of the everyday that are often overlooked or even imperceptible to the eye. www.jilliankron.squarespace.com 16 | www.fokus.org
Metamorphosis & Does It Mean Enough
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Eva Sturtz
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Emergence means evolution to me. The transition or growth from one thing into another. It refers to something that is newly forming. In these pieces, women are depicted in the process of revealing a new layer; emerging from their past selves into something undiscovered.
Eva Sturtz is a contemporary figurative artist. She relocated frequently in her earlier years, finally settling in Philadelphia as a student at Moore College of Art & Design where she earned her BFA in 2015. www.evasturtz.com 18 | www.fokus.org
Nude and New Body
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Sky Sevier
Emergence means a whole new growth and transition to me. My series, “Nude” and “New Body,” shows the transition after birth into the postpartum period and what as women have to comes to term with the aftermath of change and of life. Stepping out again, looking and stepping into a new world with a new body. Emergence is the perfect word to describe such life changing event. www.fokus.org | 19
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Sky is an abstract artist that celebrates everything Black women encounter on their body.
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Watercolor Series Emel Çevikcan’
By observing the details of everyday surroundings, I find endless ideas from Nature. Working with watercolor has always been the choice for me because it flows from the brush and is never the same application. In our day, when time flows very rapidly, when we can look at everything with a short break, inspired by art and based on the joy of life it gives, love in my paintings. Sharing. 22 | www.fokus.org
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I try to convey our amazing transformation with nature to people with the language of colors and forms. Art and nature are the basis of our existence. Life without art is like a desert without water. In these days when the pandemic has kept people away from each other, I think that the only element that allows us to reproduce life is that we should be inspired by realizing the works of art. Replicates. Converts. It overcomes the obstacles and enables us to exist. www.fokus.org | 23
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Emel is a watercolor artist from Turkey who focuses on human nature and it’s problem. Emel’s paintings cover the values of nature, living things and the beauty of their existence. www.fokus.org | 29
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Awaiting & A Place Called Hope Eniafe Tobi Jamiu
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Eniafe Tobi is an inborn artist; self trained who studied estate management and valuation, but his love for art defies all odds. Art has been the only way he could see and speak of the untold within. www.fokus.org | 31
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Conversations On Leftover Coffee Stains Sanch Kay
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Conversations on Leftover Coffee Stains” is a mix-media series where charcoal art is created on used and dried coffee filters, which then becomes a platform for linguistic collage. This series marks the emergence of personal stability, social wisdom and relentlessly authentic self-expression during the worst of the pandemic in NYC. Through the use of language and form both, the pieces are a visual and metaphorical emergence into and out of the self, into healthy risk and growth and out of “expected” ways of being. Stuck inside the house for weeks on end during spring and fall 2020, my mind first shrunk into sadness; then emerged with wild abandon. Everywhere I looked around my apartment, I saw the potential for art- coffee filters turned canvas, castaway makeup turned metallic paint, old shoes became print-making objects. On a deeper, process-related level, this series speaks to the emergence of resourcefulness and creativity in a time of deficit, and my ever-present tendencies to create art to survive (and thrive) all that the universe throws at us.
Sanch is a mix-media artist and collagist. She plays with colors, words, shapes and form to create unique pieces that speak to themes of identity formation, connections, pandemic realities and more. www.fokus.org | 33
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DRAWING BLOOD Hannah Bailey
The room is bare, my footsteps echo off the hollow walls. I sit before the window – thin film separating me from endless possibility. I reach out to touch the view, today, a little too hard; a little too curiously I press and press into my faded reflection until it shatters around me, leaving the wind suspended and gaping. I fall among the broken shards, scattering my limbs across a field of small knives. So numb from the whirring of the world that at first I do not feel wet lesions running over my spine. I wrinkle, the craters filling with crimson ink. Emerging from the glassy bed, I push the broken pieces together into a pile on the floor, leaving a space for my cross-legged form to nestle quietly amidst the ruined hope. I finger the sharp edges, feeling the weight of each heavy through my fragile bones. I close my fist tight. The glass forges shallow pits along the planes of my palms, drawing from each lifeline the mud of endurance. I begin, gathering the small prisms into unlikely pairs, sorting joy with sorrow, anguish with laughter; 40 | www.fokus.org
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coupling the dueling truths of my heart into jagged parallel ribbons. As I breathe over my work, the two spines slowly wake. They find each other and slither soberly into a knotted silhouette. They move as one, snaking towards my feet and up my legs. Twisting, spiraling; the beast of antithesis wrapping me in a scathing embrace, engraving course truths along my skin. A dyadic inscription of rivalry mapped onto my flesh. I wake to birdsong and the trembling sound of wind against empty glass. The serpent waits, its heads rest lazily upon stray dust. It unfolds itself as I stagger, once again, to my feet, dried blood tight on bare legs. Motioning towards the open frame, it uncoils itself a passageway; inversed lovers yielding the path for my weeping soles to tread. I nod, stepping into its wake. I scan the emptiness once more, and it slithers infinitely out. Hannah is an Australian/Filipino actor, musician, poet and teacher based in Brooklyn. She has performed OffBroadway with The Irish Repertory Theatre and Bard City, and her original music can be found on all streaming platforms. www.hannahadelebailey.com www.fokus.org | 41
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A New Africa Olamide Bakare
Propósito 42 | www.fokus.org
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Using “Propósito,” “Hypengyophobia,"and “Circumscription" piece as a focus. It has really defined EMERGENCE in my perspective, not only the emerging of certain activities, but the emerging of some certain components in life, particularly situations. Olamide Bakare’s art denotes a contemporary interpretation of various social context in Africa. Her desire is to address an old Africa in order to create a new Africa in the heart of the audience. She was born in Badagry, the ancient city in Lagos, Nigeria. www.fokus.org | 43
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Circumscription
The emergence of understanding purpose, the emergence of understanding deprivation, and the emergence of understanding the fear of taking responsibility. All of these are theories to becoming a better person in life. It emerges dues to the understanding and observation of the environment, using individuals collectively as a case study. 44 | www.fokus.org
American Film
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Debby Branch
It could be called the big bang theory without the big bang. Where people living without protection of buildings or the promise of food. Using knowledge stored up until now coupled with an open heart to keep learning and growing. I took this photo of people, individuals self-organizing into communities and neighborhoods in cities As a teen Ms. Branch started writing. She saw all bands in the village and studied acting at The Lee Strasberg Institute. Debby made a short film, “The Lake,” that is housed in the archive library at The Whitney Museum. www.fokus.org | 45
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The Text Message RGM
I’m a Mexican abstract artist. My subject matter is people’s stories, what inspires me are emotions and feelings, I attempt to explain life and its meaning through art using traditional materials, mostly acrylic and ink on paper, I make the brush dance and flow naturally, as the emotion comes. I believe that “THE TEXT MESSAGE” Collection is a good element for this call, the concept of creation and execution is about expressing untold feelings. This collection is full of color and light, translating stories into art with another perspective, they translate the grief and healing of broken hearts, a deep project that involved 20 people that shared their stories. It’s hard to experience heartbreak, there are many feelings involved that can lead us to deep pain and drive us to unknown and “dark” places, but surely that feeling won’t be forever. Life plays in mysterious ways and all that possible pain will give us learning that will help us to become the best version of ourselves, EMERGING into someone different and better. It’s important to feel and recognize our feelings and talk about them, that’s why I didn’t make this project just about my story, people want to share and tell their story, empathy is important and that’s what this project is about also. I wanted them to speak and feel.
RGM is a Mexican artist based in Los Angeles, CA. Passionate about abstract art, her work translates feelings and emotions into non-objective compositions using multiple shapes, patterns, and organic brush movements full of color, texture and detail. 46 | www.fokus.org
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There is hope in the dark
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Forgive me, it hurts
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My first everything www.fokus.org | 51
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We are in different moments in our lives www.fokus.org | 53
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Perfectly imperfect www.fokus.org | 55
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