STEEL KARKADE- Analysing the strength and brutality of diasporic Black women’s experiences through afrosurrealism
The primary purpose of Steel Karkade is to showcase, through Afro-surrealism and the Black Horror genre, the multifaceted experiences of Black women in the diaspora, as well as in my own cultural landscape of South Sudan and Sudan.
In envisioning a timeless and historical scene that represents the ultimate expression of ancestral devotion and veneration, Steel Karkade brings together key ancestral figures, motifs, and archaeological iconography that merge into an ode to afrosurrealism and Black spirituality. Key figures like my great aunt, ‘Amoweng,’ a witch doctor, are emblematic of the importance of preserving indigenous spiritual practices that have roots in animism, such as those found in places like South Sudan. Other practices like scarification as depicted, that also have roots in South Sudan, are key in exposing the bias, violence and borders that divide tribes and culture in Sudan, South Sudan and Egypt. This piece is a summation of spirituality that has persevered throughout these deeply historical practices and obstacles, and is an envisioning of my own spirituality.
Maree Nikimaya (b.2001) born and raised in Lutruwita/Tasmania, is a Fine Arts student currently studying at RMIT University in Naarm/Melbourne. Her art practice is heavily influenced by the complexity and rich history of her South Sudanese background, as well as surrealism. Her works represent a beautiful intertwining of these two concepts through portraiture, abstract, and figurative pieces.
Nikimaya is also drawn to and fascinated with incorporating Afro-surreal themes into her works, the genre sublimely encapsulating the dark, exploitative, and bizarre but beautifully surreal multidimensional aspects of the Black experience. The impetus of Nikimaya’s practice is to display through the afrosurreal genre and Black horror-influencing themes, the non-monolithic experiences of Black women in the diaspora and in her own cultural landscape of South Sudan.
