THE BLACK CHURCH
I began reflecting on Church as a Black citizen in the U.S. a few years ago. Having stepped away from my Anglican, Christian faith as a teenager, I embarked on a decade long exploration into Eastern spirituality. Eventually I came to learn that I, like a lot of my fellow Black, U.S. citizens had not done much research on the spiritual practices of my ancestors in Africa. This is in part due to our brutally severed ties from our original homelands in Africa, as well as having assimilated into a faith that our most recent ancestors have come to accept. At this juncture, it seemed important for me to sit with my lack of knowledge of the faith that my ancestors from Nigeria practiced, and create a series honoring spiritual practices that I am not currently knowledgeable about. I did this in part by borrowing the visual language of Christian shrines that I was raised with, as well as objects and previously created artwork that reference what I know of West African spirituality up to this point. This series includes digital projections on stages made of assembled materials, including wood, LED lights and fabric. This series is the first in a continuing exploration into the spirituality of my ancestors.