Diaspora Stories
As a child, I immersed myself in fairytales, weaving their magic into my dreams day and night. These tales of adventure and transformation have always held a place in my heart. However, I realized that the stories I grew up with reflected only one part of my heritage—fairytales from a European background. The other side of my ancestry, with its own histories and mythologies, remained untouched.
Through my AI-created short videos, I craft new lenses to bridge that gap, reimagining these narratives from a diasporic perspective. By exploring the concept of Pan-African futurism, I merge lost histories, the present, and possible futures. These videos explore the multiplicity of African and diasporic identities, blending ancestral wisdom with futuristic visions. In doing so, I reflect on how memory and storytelling shape our perception of self.
In tdoing so, I write my own stories, reshaping my personal narrative and expanding the possibilities of what the future can hold for diasporic communities—a means to decolonize my own imagination.
I purposefully use the term "Pan-African Futurism" because "Afrofuturism" is closely tied to the African-American diaspora, which differs from my own experience. Additionally the term "Afrofuturism" was coined by a white man, it's imperative for me to define my artistic expression in words created not be the observer but by the ones experiencing.
"Diaspora Stories" is an ongoing series.
Stillness
Stillness has been screened at the the AI Film and Art Festival AiFilm3 in Arizona 11/24 and has won the official AI category of ASVOFF 16 - A Shaded View On Fashion Film. RED-EYE RADAR has written a beautiful write-up on their LinkedIn Blog
They Used To Come Visit Us
Instead of
prominent and loud resistence,
I'd like to
be quiet today
Assert my existence
by simply being
by staying still
and being whitnessed
“You’ve got to make your own world, you’ve got to write yourself in.” - Octavia Butler
Stillness has been screened at the the AI Film and Art Festival AiFilm3 in Arizona 11/24