Untitled. 2024
steel, weave sew-ins, silver, banana leaves, bubblewrap, chocolate
These works draw on research on colonial manifestations within Western aesthetic discourse, particularly in the adoption of the grid within abstract modernism; being rooted in the same philosophies of terra nullius and Manifest Destiny, as laid out in David Lloyd’s text Grid Locks. Through these works, Femi looks to research and address the connections between colonial approaches to notions of ownership and subjecthood and the agency of women of colour within their own communities under Western hegemony. Both works adopt a centripetal approach to reflecting on formalistic and philosophical anti-blackness within aesthetic discourse and in external socio-economic contexts through their structure and materiality.
Shown in the dual show The Grounds from which We Grow with Natasha Burton, at Addis Fine Art London, London.