1st place
gold star award
Alexandra Black
canada
title
ne temikilis pal ne kuyut papalut
Nepantla, as conceptualized by Gloria Anzaldúa, involves the transference of cultural and spiritual values of one group to another, specifically as experienced by people who feel the in-between-ness of multitudes within their own identity (eg. being mixed race, gender queer, etc). This yields sentiments of being in a constant state of transition, which builds tolerance for contradiction.
Kyriarchy is an intersectional feminist theory that explores power and oppression depending on one’s ever changing positionality. This acknowledges how we relate to one another, and each other’s experiences within our socio-cultural worlds.
Framed within the art of cartomancy, Nepantla and Kyriarchy inform the shared sense of wholeness experienced through this work.
The goal of this project is to not only initiate ritual and ceremony that engages critical reflection of self and the world, but also, to reconnect fragmented identities, inspiring new ways of existing in wholeness and connectedness within the flesh.
Through self-taught explorations in photography, drawing, painting and mixed media arts, Alexa found her passion deeply embedded in antiquated techniques of photography and classical illustration. Enamoured with tintype and wet plate collodion processes, she learned the foundations through a 3-day workshop with Quinn Jacobsen.
Black seeks to reveal the magic of hidden realms that exist in parallel to our terrestrial and colonially defined reality. Her art is ignited by the energies of her indigenous ancestral territories, animism, and being an ally to marginalized populations. The work is built by reconnecting the seams of her fractured identities, by reclaiming and amplifying the voices of her silenced ancestors from matrilineal blood lines. Black divines dreams and visions shrouded in haunting atmospheric aesthetics that are symbolic of life's beauty and cosmic initiations. Her work is primarily dedicated to deconstructing the disconnected and damaged societal tissue imposed by colonial standards of living.
Alexa has been a featured artist in galleries across BC and internationally in Los Angeles. Her drawings, films, and paintings have been featured in published works such as Invisible City and Discorder Magazine. Recently she was awarded the Concept to Realization Grant by the Canada Council of the Arts and Native Earth’s 40 seeds for 40 Seasons award to produce her upcoming 78 piece innovative and intersectional tintype/mixed media collage oracle, inspired by a traditional tarot deck. This evolving body of work is to be featured in SEITIES analogue print publication and shown in Toronto at Weesageechak 35 this fall.
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entry description
Ne Temikilis Pal Ne Kuyut Papalut translates to the Coyote Butterfly’s Dream in Nahuat, a dialect of Kuskatan, colonially known as El Salvador. Ne Temikilis Pal Ne Kuyut Papalut delivers a series of images employing the art of cartomancy in the structure of a traditional tarot deck as the basis for exploring Nepantla and Kyriarchy through ceremony.Nepantla, as conceptualized by Gloria Anzaldúa, involves the transference of cultural and spiritual values of one group to another, specifically as experienced by people who feel the in-between-ness of multitudes within their own identity (eg. being mixed race, gender queer, etc). This yields sentiments of being in a constant state of transition, which builds tolerance for contradiction.
Kyriarchy is an intersectional feminist theory that explores power and oppression depending on one’s ever changing positionality. This acknowledges how we relate to one another, and each other’s experiences within our socio-cultural worlds.
Framed within the art of cartomancy, Nepantla and Kyriarchy inform the shared sense of wholeness experienced through this work.
The goal of this project is to not only initiate ritual and ceremony that engages critical reflection of self and the world, but also, to reconnect fragmented identities, inspiring new ways of existing in wholeness and connectedness within the flesh.
about the photographer
Alexa Black is an artist of mixed Nahua, Maya and Irish heritage creating as a guest on traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Xwməθkwəyə̓ m (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.Through self-taught explorations in photography, drawing, painting and mixed media arts, Alexa found her passion deeply embedded in antiquated techniques of photography and classical illustration. Enamoured with tintype and wet plate collodion processes, she learned the foundations through a 3-day workshop with Quinn Jacobsen.
Black seeks to reveal the magic of hidden realms that exist in parallel to our terrestrial and colonially defined reality. Her art is ignited by the energies of her indigenous ancestral territories, animism, and being an ally to marginalized populations. The work is built by reconnecting the seams of her fractured identities, by reclaiming and amplifying the voices of her silenced ancestors from matrilineal blood lines. Black divines dreams and visions shrouded in haunting atmospheric aesthetics that are symbolic of life's beauty and cosmic initiations. Her work is primarily dedicated to deconstructing the disconnected and damaged societal tissue imposed by colonial standards of living.
Alexa has been a featured artist in galleries across BC and internationally in Los Angeles. Her drawings, films, and paintings have been featured in published works such as Invisible City and Discorder Magazine. Recently she was awarded the Concept to Realization Grant by the Canada Council of the Arts and Native Earth’s 40 seeds for 40 Seasons award to produce her upcoming 78 piece innovative and intersectional tintype/mixed media collage oracle, inspired by a traditional tarot deck. This evolving body of work is to be featured in SEITIES analogue print publication and shown in Toronto at Weesageechak 35 this fall.
back to gallery