“Black Artists Forge New Worlds in ‘Unbound'”
The exhibition “Unbound: Art, Blackness, & the Universe” at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco intricately explores the interplay between African and African diasporic perspectives on the cosmos. The exhibit spans the entire museum, spotlighting a dynamic range of artworks that prompt both historical reflection and futuristic imagination.
Upon entering, visitors encounter mid-20th-century wooden sculptures from West African cultures. A Dogon artist’s elongated figure and a Yoruba artist’s Oshe Sango ceremonial staff invite viewers to consider the relationship between the human body, ancestral connections, and the universe, with the artworks serving as conduits between earthly and celestial realms.
In the corridors, Mikael Owunna’s luminous photographs feature figures painted with celestial motifs, transforming the space into an ethereal intersection between art and cosmos. Harmonia Rosales offers a contemporary reinterpretation of Yoruba creation myths in her striking painting “Creation Story,” where she blends African spiritual traditions with European Renaissance aesthetics.
Didier William’s “Dark Shores” and Gustavo Nazareno’s triptych “The Secret Matrices of Creation” further enrich the dialogue on the diasporic experience, drawing on personal and cultural histories. Oasa DuVerney’s “Black Power Wave” series encapsulates the fusion of historical wisdom and revolutionary spirit within sacred contexts.
The exhibition consciously sidesteps linear narratives, opting instead for a series of thematic inquiries that challenge Western scientific views of the cosmos, inviting viewers to consider varied aesthetic, spiritual, and political interpretations of the universe. Through this, “Unbound” creates a resonant experience that honors the complex layers of African cosmological traditions and their contemporary artistic expressions.
“Unbound: Art, Blackness & the Universe” runs at the Museum of the African Diaspora until August 16, with curation by Key Jo Lee.