Awol Erizku | Mystic Parallax
Awol Erizku, Girl with a Bamboo Earring, 2009; from Awol Erizku: Mystic
Parallax (Aperture, 2023). Courtesy the artist
Written by Simran Tuteja
Black art has majorly influenced art around the world, the influence of Black American art is larger internationally than any other ethnic group in the country. It is that the power of imagination and representation is what gives birth to enticing jazz or provocative literature that makes you think about what it means to be a Black American. Through practicing re-imagination of African American visual cultures, Awol Erizku’s new book Mystic Parallax captures the audience by inviting them to contemplate worldwide art from a different perspective. It is the first major monograph that represents the artist’s visions that include art history, personal experience, and Pan-African thought and symbolism. The book is published by Aperture along with the Momentary, a contemporary art space and satellite to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
Awol Erizku, Purple Ape , 2017; from Awol Erizku: Mystic Parallax
(Aperture, 2023). Courtesy the artist
In his book, the artist expands across various subjects, from hip-hop and trap music to African art and re-imagined European art, while paying respects to the traditions of spirituality and Surrealism. Some of the most famous faces in pop culture are used as subjects but the lead character is Neferititi. Queen of the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, and the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, Neferititi was one of the most controversial women in history. Erizku captures various bust sculptures of her from different angles and in different settings highlighting the importance of the queen throughout his book. In one of the images, a white sculpture of Nefrititi’s bust is photographed alongside a white vase with yellow flowers spotlighting the delicateness of the queen’s bust. In another image, three photographs of the mosaic mirrored bust against black background are displayed, bringing forth her boldness.
Awol Erizku, Ruth E. Carter’s costume design, T’Challa’s Black Panther
Suit . New Yorker, 2018; from Awol Erizku: Mystic Parallax (Aperture, 2023).
Courtesy the artist
Girl with a Pearl Earring by the French Artist, Johannes Vermeer, is one of the most famous paintings of all time. Awol Erizku reimagines the painting with a Black subject looking into the lens. She is wearing a heart earring hence promoting the power of love and representation. Vermeer is not the only Western painter that Erizku re-interprets; other Western painters that have been re-imagined by the artist include Édouard Manet, and Leonardo da Vinci to name some. There are a lot of familiar faces captured by Erizku photographs of whom are present throughout the book including Michael B. Jordan, Viola Davis, Pharell Williams, Bad Bunny, Tessa Thompson, Solange Knowles, and many others. Some of the images have been on the covers of magazines such as GQ, Highsnobiety, and Cultured Magazine. The artist believes in getting work done and not separating his commissioned work from his noncommissioned work.
Awol Erizku, Ruth E. Carter’s costume design, featuring a pair of Nike
Air Revolutions like the ones worn by Radio Raheem in Do the Right
Thing; purses and starburst earrings for Coretta Scott King, in Selma; and
Tina Turner’s pumps, from What’s Love Got to Do with It . New Yorker,
2018; from Awol Erizku: Mystic Parallax (Aperture, 2023). Courtesy the artist
Erziku doesn’t just stop at celebrities, Western painters and Nefrititi. He extends to fashion, Black Masculinity, sensuality and beauty of Black women, beauteousness of flowers, neon lights, young girls in dresses, influence of African art, and hip hop in East Harlem. He gives life to the words ‘art is subjected to interpretation’. The influence of artists David Hammons and Marcel Duchamp in Erizku’s work is very prominent. Born in Gondar, Ethiopia, Awol Erizku received his MFA from the Yale School of Art and currently resides and works in Los Angeles. He was first featured on the 2016 cover of ‘Vision & Justice’, a landmark issue of the Aperture magazine. His work has also been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, Gagosian, NY, Night Gallery, LA and many others. Sean Kelly Gallery, Ny will be presenting Erizku’s solo exhibition in September 2023.
