Afro-Sagrada Familia
Afro-Sagrada Familia (The Lovers) | Mom & Dad (2023) | Mitiko & Sirelys (2024)
Afro-Sagrada Familia | Zahir Ajam Mawon (2019) | Kaila Bule (2019) | Jordano (2022) | Saso (2021) | Yaissa, (2021) | Patricia (2022)
Afro-Sagrada Familia | (L) Zahir Ajam Mawon | (R) Kaila | 2019 - 2022
Of The Sacred, Critical Distance Centre For Curators, Toronto, Canada. 2022
Afro-Sagrada Familia | (L) Saso | (R) Yaissa | 2021
Beyond The Margins: An Exploration of Latina Art & Identity, The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, Utah. 2023
Afro-Sagrada Familia | Zahir Ajam Mawon | 2019
Publish in Aperture Magazine 241 | Winter 2020 | Print
Calling in the Spirit | For Latinx photographers, a search for belonging
The Afro-Sagrada Familia series engages with the architectural and spiritual significance of The Basílica de la Sagrada Família, an incomplete Roman Catholic minor basilica located in Barcelona, Spain. This series synthesizes elements from Catholic iconography and Afro-Syncretic religions, specifically Santería and Vodou, to inform its compositional choices, poses, and symbolism. The subjects of these portraits embody African Orishas or loas, employing vibrant colors and a variety of sculptural objects to enhance their representation. For instance, the sitter Yaissa, paired with a large seashell, evokes the Yoruba orisha Yemaya, while Patricia, enveloped in red and white silks, holding ceramic sugarcanes, alludes to the Yoruba orisha Shango. These portraits feature Afro-Dominican performers in intricately handwoven costumes, ultimately grounding the works in the African heritage of Quisqueya, which encompasses present-day Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Afro-Sagrada Familia series raises critical questions about the dynamics of cultural sanctity and the historical erasure of certain communities, inviting viewers to reconsider perceptions of sacredness across diverse cultural landscapes.
Afro-Sagrada Familia is an ongoing portraiture series.
Long Gallery Harlem & Nordstrom | Styling: Black Expression, Rebellion, and Joy Through Fashion| 2020
Nordstrom Installation Photo by Connie Zhou