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In the Face of History
Through international archival research, Adama Delphine Fawundu has amassed dozens of found newsprint stories, reproductions of paintings, advertisements, and more ranging from Antebellum American South to the mid-20th century highlighting historical records of trauma, hope, resistance, and the brilliance of people who have felt the oppression of historical events. How they are told, and retold? Fawundu intervenes in these moments by transposing herself onto the print - simultaneously bearing quantum witness and perhaps acting as a photo-psychic intercessor. Perhaps our perception of history has a way of impacting how we move forward in the present.
Installation View:
Black Magic: AfroPasts/Afro Futures
Honfleur Gallery, Washington, DC , 2017
Installation View:
In Plain Sight/Site
Artspace, New Haven, CT , 2019
Installation View:
Chale Wote Festival
Ussher Fort
Accra, Ghana 2019
Installation View:
Rio Loco Festival
Toulouse, France, 2021
Installation View:
Solo Exhibition: Gathering Together
Art@Bainbridge
Princeton University Art Museum, 2021
In the Face of History Freedom Cape (2020) is constructed from historical documents printed on fabric. The head of a Black woman is transposed on each document as she bears witness. As we celebrate 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, this series is symbolic of the continued struggle for Black women to be treated fairly as citizens of the United States of America. Historical documents range from the antebellum American South and the Berlin Conference to the mid 20th century, highlighting records of both trauma and hope of people who have felt the oppression of these historical events. I frequently think about how moments of progress by women of African descent are often omitted from the retelling of these events. The series celebrates significant points in American history such as the career of Shirley Chisholm, who was the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress and the first woman to run for Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. In the Face of History Freedom Cape interrogates our perception of history and asks the question: How can our simulated truths impact our present and future understanding of self and humanity? With a woman at the center, this project rethinks, reimagines, and reveals the role that women of African descent play in American/world history.
Installation View:
100 Years|100 Women
Park Avenue Armory Commission
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