Own Cult: Icons of Wonderland

As part of cutlog NY 2014, TURF was pleased to present: Own Cult: Icons of Wonderland. It drew on the works of three emerging artists: Nathalie Mba-Bikoro, Elena Cecchinato, Leah Gordon and, Vodou flag maker Antoine Oleyant. The show explored the role of icons and cult figures in creating a new visual language on human identity. The digital age, its endless flow of information, is making it difficult for us to peel fact from fiction and the past from the future. However, that does nurture our ability to tap into the subconscious, where there are a plethora of non-linear narratives on how we experience the world. Ultimately, this show reiterated what artist Elena Cecchinato calls ‘Own Cult’. It eschewed distinction, time and place, illustrating instead, how our lives are hybrid and governed by us. Our existence is constantly fraught with collision, chaos and change. Therein lies the beauty of Africana today: its cults and icons are an embodiment of the agile human spirit. Those tell their own heroic fairytales of hope amidst imminent doom and despair.