"2018 The Year of the Afrosurreal"
Afro-surrealism is a state of being that evokes a sense of being that seeks to break down the reality that does not make sense therefore, the medium that seeks to understand the nonsense resorts to blending. The alchemical approach of synthesizing the complexities of reality from a black eye use Afro-surrealism.
You are in the space of time and reality it is a constellation of ideas, the past, the present, and the future. In that wind, you understand the existence of the conjoined timelines. The past is the future, the future is the present in its present state-. The human being's "subject of interest" seeks to embrace its reality as it tries to make sense of the complexities that are interwoven in this reality, thus Afro-surrealism embraces the complexities that come along with being period and then investigates to the core the root problem of the period. With the whim and the goal of sparking a conversation or dialogue so as to find answers to the intricate unanswered questions to the secrets of the black struggle through metaphors. The bid is not to waste anyone's time, the intention is to source the cognitive reasoning through mass consciousness.
Take a look at the back, simultaneously looking at the front.
Time floating away, yet we are a part of the time, time is us and us is time. Therefore there is a symbiotic relationship between time and humanity. Humanity is a part of the time and it brings being into one's space to make sense of what is happening in the moment and space. The human being tries to bring all to sense feels as time floating away. As history repeats itself it becomes a never-ending fragment of existence. In the bid to rationalize black, history, black identity, and black existence is then bent through words for one to have a look into the mirror of words that is willing and yearning to connect with other distant souls. Therefore Afro-surrealism becomes the vehicle that is able to connect with everyone from the diverse Afro community. A harmonious connection with every being under the sun, the metaphysical elevated consciousness of thought processing that brings every black person under the sun to be aware of the dream space that has consumed itself from within and from outside. A never-ending spiral dark void itself thus literature, music, and art, plays that key elevated conscious role that brings everyone together; to bring dignity to the black person in this time and moment. The Afro-surreal space is necessary to transform how we see things, interpret things, and embrace things that occur around us. In this space, we look at what happened then and what we can.
Leopold Senghor "Afro-surrealism is mystical and metaphorical"
Afro-surrealism sees that all others create from their actual lived experiences and therefore surrealism is an escape into the realm of inner reasoning of all the elements that restrict growth and fore-reasoning. Furthermore, Afro-realism is about the present, past, and future all occurring in that same space and time. Context is a necessary part of the journey into understanding Afro-surrealism this means that the view focuses on the lived experiences and a surrealist experience is meant for the people to be able to connect with the product that is being produced. The modus operandi is to humanize product and consumer, an idea that focuses to inspire and trigger dialogue.
Afro-surrealism is about the present and about the past, and the future.
Afro-surrealism exposes the future-present the RIGHT NOW, therefore the school of thought is always seeking to address the needs of the current time, therefore it never gets old as the struggles for the marginalized communities expand and extend through millennia.
The school of thought is a form of drifting from spectrums of understanding or reasoning. This means it is a contemporary culture on a rowboat with no oars, entering the city to hunt down clues for the cure to this ancient, incurable deserve called "Western civilization".
Afro-surreal presupposes that beyond this visible world there is an invisible world striving to manifest itself. Therefore art from the lenses of artists serves as that vehicle that brings reasoning and comprehension of the contemporary conversation in society. One such Afro-surrealists would be Harmonia Rosales, the artist who designed the cover art of Nas' Kings Disease.
An investigation into the unknown, it recognizes the impact of human nature which generates the surreal experiences that any other process could hope to produce. The spectrums of timeline observation in accordance with past-present experiences such as colonialism, slavery, and neo-colonialism. All are symbols of black awakening, "the Phoenix rising from the ashes", Afro-surrealism identifies the glitch in the matrix, and seeks to address the glitch through art, vice versa this means that the interpreter of reality becomes awakened of the glitch that it witnesses in that time and space. The discipline looks at the beauty, the sensuous, and whimsical for the "rational-minded".
Afro-surrealism looks at the highly-paid short term commodities "as opposed to poorly long term one (slaves)". The school of thought excavates the remnants of this post-apocalypse with disdained flair. Exploring further, a reflection of yesterday's icons is a source of inspiration to the nature and structure of the art as it reflects the theme of Afro-surrealism. The harmonization of the past into the present evokes the essence of humanity and being as it's inspired by the ethos of existence and this means that death or those gone are still a part of the time. The past strengthens the future, the past prepares the future and present.
Understanding further Afro-surrealism through the lens of the movement one gets to note that all others who create from their actual lived experience are surrealists. In the sense of the surrealist's experience, one gets to observe that the observer struggles to embrace its reality as it does not add up to its observation. Therefore Afro-surrealism is the gate or medium of the nonsense to the sense that is kept behind the lenses of the common eye. In essence, the observations of Laury Hill best assert the observations of Afro-surrealism, pay attention to Jordan Peele, Dany Glover, Lakeith Stanfield, as for the African context one would suggest that Dambudzo Marechera embraced Afro-surrealism religiously-, and his works such as House of Hunger, Black Sunlight, Cemetry of mind, among some of his works. They amplify the absurdity of reality in words best come into the projection of the works of Marechera.
The work explores and excavates the remnants of the post-apocalypse with dandified flair.
D Scott Miller says, "The critical response to living in an unreal world that you must treat real lest it beats you down". The quote essentially reflects the views of Afro-Surrealism as it manifests the ideals of black emancipation through raising mass consciousness. The Afro-surrealism is an incomplete letter, someone tempered with the letter, therefore the people that practice the art through their work attempt into bringing sense to the missing elements of that letter.
The perspective of reality becomes surreal as it reflects the inconsistency of humanity the sense does not make sense what is deemed reasonable becomes unreasonable. In essence, Afro-surrealism is a vehicle that reflects the conscious reasoning of society brought to light through mass consciousness of the oddity of society through the emotive conversation of the intense complexities of the existence of humanity. The voice of the voiceless becomes amplified by the use and collaboration of the absurd and incomprehensible. Is the selling point that submits the effectiveness of communication through figurative speech. The work is introspective in nature where metaphors like the sunken place are used to explore painful truths of the murky nature of being a human being in one's view the vices of man "which I am not immune from as well, I am part of the problem as well".
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, "I am the product of the masses of my people and the product of the enemy"
Understanding the concept requires consultation from a plethora of sources and basing one's understanding is something that directs the producer and consumers into one desired direction "mass consciousness". The historical existence of Africa and her scattered children, the tragedy-, and the transformation from the material, that surrealists draw inspiration from as they define the core mission purpose of the art form. Therefore being an Afro-surrealist does not mean you are perfect nor are you stellar, you are part of the problem in your work you are trying to find the answers that define the meaning of the problems that are there. Therefore Afro-spirituality becomes a north star, as it defines the essence of blackness.
Spanning the map of Afro-surrealism what can be understood is that the school of work is vast and extensive. One can suggest that the vastness of the universe is the prime juxtapositioning of Afro-surrealism is the best experience that makes sense in the current contextual reality. This further means that there are aspects of the ism that may be discovered, that have been discovered, that shall never be discovered as it is vast and extensive. Thus in one's stance, there is no answer to Afro-surrealism there is no definitive conclusion to Afro-surrealism therefore it would be self-righteous for one to claim that there is an answer and all should follow it. The reasoning is based according to this notion, ideas and concepts from an Afro-surrealists observation add on from where the previous practitioners left off. A never-ending cascading river into the reasoning of the absurdity of that time and in one's observation it has to be quantified and it should make sense. Thus time becomes the ally of any practitioner of the discipline as it is the only form of reflection and reference when it comes to the craft and those that are seeking understanding in their lifetime.
The practice is anchored around blackness and black rebellion against the system as it has proven to be exploitative, restricting-, and suffocating. Therefore the yearning for the independence of the mind and soul is then manifested around the imagined world that has been brought about the identification of body snatchers, revolution highjackers, cultural diluters, and culture vultures instead of advocating for violence. Afro-surrealism sows the mustered seed of black rebellion-, and suggests that there is a future for the formerly and presently disenfranchised majority. In Afro-surrealism, the art or the ism illuminates the basis that would be used to amplify creativity, social activism, and mass consciousness. In which programs such as economic recovery through knowledge sharing as the basis of the problems of society are then tackled through Afro-surrealism. One might suggest the reasoning around Leopold Sedar Senghor's vision around nation-building through art, though twenty-five percent of the national budget was earmarked for art development in Senegal. Furthermore, a country's evolution can be inspired by Afro-surrealism.
Things float, fly in surrealism, darkness defines more than light and this means in pain there is joy in pain, we find ourselves in pain, the mind's spectrum's perspectives are broadened through pain. Thus one can suggest this thought that Afro-surrealism can be understood as religious practice or activity that seeks is spiritual as it seeks to connect with the soul, an elevation beyond reasoning, a practice that defies the gravity of practicality based on the western-inspired lens of reasoning. The being is defined by its adversary, tribulations, and trials, that have defined the black person. This does not mean that pain defines the black person, but pain serves as the vehicle that brings the marginalized community together and is able to be masters of their own destiny, "the black man is capable of managing his own affairs"
"Afro-surrealism and fees must fall" hold that thought I shall return to this topic in the future.
Afro-surrealism-, looks into the following aspects of fall and rise, tragedy and transcendence, slavery and freedom, death and birth, and rebirth.
Afro-surrealism knows no borders, knows no boundaries it brings the conscious understanding that all marginalized persons from all the corners of the globe are united by the tides of history.
According to E. Sellin, there is a concise distinction between surrealism and Afro-surrealism, obviously, the prefix "Afro", be that as it may, there is a deeper diverse distinction between the two isms which are. Surrealism is pitted against a certain time and place and eternal surreal feeling that is founded upon an agreed space of practitioners that share a similar scope among themselves. As for Afro-surrealism, the ism is a never-ending conversation translated from the absurdity of moments and time to the "surdity" of moments and time. As this means that time is not constant in Afro-surrealism as compared to surrealism.
Historical occurrences are a mainstay in the contemporary view of Afro-surrealism discussing historical revolts, the use of signs which have a meaning as one critic puts is a mental space that is unbounded and it equates all lost ones into one space that brings them together and unites against a common enemy that has brought displacement and angst upon another race. This then does not equate nor may it justify or may it inspire conflict, it inspires self-determination and self-actualization among the dispelled and despoiled many that they can rise above their circumstances. Therefore the metaphors are the gateway that communicates and manifests n the minds of the masses after they have gone through the journey.
Furthermore observing the nature of Afro-surrealism as an ontological model admits of no chronological or geographical boundaries and readily accommodates everyone under one bracket that acknowledges that there should be universal consciousness upon a specific topic, as the vices of the mortal men are the detriment of the mortal men.
Poets and thinkers such as Birago Diop and Leopold Sedar Senghor, their works extensively echo Afro-surrealism as they expound the negritude as a catalyst or accelerator and anti-catalyst into societal acceptance. This means that the school of thought around negritude and Afro-surrealism is that they dispel the notion around the stereotype of how the black person has and is perceived to be incompetent. The field of work advocates for a tolerable and respectful view of the black person, the black person can see the world and can define the world for all to borrow and learn as well. Thus having a voice at the table, understanding the voice at the table, and respecting the voice at the table. In epistemological codes, the African voice is still scraping its way to being universally accepted as it should be witnessed like the rest of the world. It is ironic that African Art that has been plagiarised by persons such as Picasso or Elvis Presley, they all founded their careers around black exploitation. In essence, what is being forwarded and argued in this topic is that Afro-surrealism amplifies the negritude as a status of being that not only must be viewed from a whitewashed lens but should be viewed from an equal lens into observing the acceptance of the product by all in the same breath all should embrace the same breath that focuses on listening what the negro also has to say about this world as well.
The discipline is a medium of artistic independence and it evokes awareness, and mortality, and it is aggressive "revolutionary".It suggests awakening and self-awareness as the complete remedy for all the ills that have plagued the historically marginalized voices. Historical occurrences play an integral role in affirming blackness as a legal approach as it allows the law student or practitioner to embrace the origins of the medium called the law and how it has been brought into existence as a tool of conquest, not a tool of advancing civilization. Through the lenses of the cis-gendered, heterosexual Judeo-Christian white man saw fitting that the law must be abided because he deems so. Thus Afro-surrealism plays an unequivocal role in addressing the flawed bearings of the African legal practitioner. Migrating from being sheeple to becoming the wolf that hunts down the sheep that are used to propel ineptitude in the black community through "epistemological enlightenment" whereas the black man can and is able to the master of his own intellectual destiny that then seeks to evoke sustainable justice. As compared to its perspective around the ideals of accessing justice. Within the lens of justice according to the African interpretation, one submits the notion, that suggests that the law is not used for the purpose of correction, the law is used as a tool to delete and destroy the dignity of the African. Through the religious apprehension of the views of the chief architects of the law, that carried the agenda of deleting, eliminating, incapacitating, and dismantling the African and all would be free thinkers. However, afro-surrealism evokes the African approach to law as a theme of restorative justice and corrective justice. In essence, the humane nature of law is withheld by the discipline of Afro-surrealism.
The impact of the mass awakening has a cascading effect in suggesting the policies and ideas that are formulated and constructed around the interest of the people, in turn, whatever you produce in mass you are expected to recover in mass. The ideals of commerce centered around humanity become the founding pillars of humanity, not the ideals of mass exploitation that then results in consumerism that then has an avalanching impact on the environment.
Afro-surrealism does not force anyone to awaken, nor does it seek to create a cult out of cognitive universal reasoning, as has been reflected and projected by the machinations of mortal men. The discipline submits the universal truth and the truth which is undeniable as it speaks what the masses understand about their worldly reality as compared to the assumed truth that has been universally forced upon the majority through, death, kidnappings, and conquest.
The reasoning allows one to access their own truth at free will and find their own answers at free will, that they seek within themselves and they convincingly understand that it is in the best interests of themselves and those affected by the machinations and constructions of the mortal man, basically Afro-surrealism notes the following: find your truth, understand your history, embrace your circumstances, find that which is harmonious and is in tandem with mass ideals of the affected. In the best interest of peace, tranquility, and serenity all fashioned against the universal goals of peace and harmony which are difficult to attain, if given the chance they might be achieved.
Therefore contextualizing the school of thought communicates with telepathy with the Afrocentric ancient sacred ideals of Unhu.
Afro-surrealism creates a contrary expected reality, that many desire to witness "The city of Wakanda". The ideals are in accordance with the "rational" mind that deems and understands justice through the lenses of Afro-surrealism. The disciple of the ideology is presumed, assumed, and observed to be beside itself. In essence, what is real what is not, what is the truth, and what is not the truth. Therefore human interest is the influencing notion of Afro-surrealism.
Afro-surrealism contradicts universal apprehension of the deemed acceptable route of conduct within society. As society is buttressed against the exploitation of the masses all for the benefit of the few. Afro-surrealists convey the notion of critique against justice as it is viewed from a microscopic lens, and its flaws are amplified. Thus, the ajar contradicting modes of the practical reality that is on the ground that is tainted and polluted by the human needs that transmutate to the seven vices of men. Thus creating a symbiotic relationship between reality and surrealism, one needs the other to be alive, a ying to the yang of the other. Afro-surrealism acts as a reminder to the negro folk: hey wake up from your stupor and claim your birthright like the rest of your folk.
2018 might have been declared the year of Afro-surrealism, I propose that Afro-surrealism is an annual process, it happens every day, therefore until the end of time. Afro-surrealism is a part of humanity, what does the crystal ball hold, it says the truth is in Afro-surrealism.
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