“The Flying African” (2019) 16” x 24” Archival inkjet print
Darkness is a challenge for many photographers. A badly lit room can ruin an image, and the absence of light can make it impossible for the camera to capture anything at all. What if darkness was not only a resource but also a meaningful vessel? Multimedia artist Mikael Owunna turns the principles of photography on its head to bring ancient African folklore to light in his new exhibition titled Imagine Fresh Darkness. The show features 19 images from his groundbreaking photographic series Infinite Essence.
While photography is mostly used to capture a moment as seen by our eyes, Owunna has taken it to its etymological origins to create something more. “[Infinite Essence] redefines conventional notions of photography, which from its Greek roots—photos (light) and graphos (drawing)—is often understood as ‘drawing with light,’” states Blue Sky Gallery, which houses the exhibition. “However, Owunna’s approach subverts this foundational concept by utilizing ultraviolet light, which is invisible to the naked eye, to reveal and draw from the ‘blackness’ or darkness itself.”
To achieve this, Owunna built custom camera equipment that captures the fluorescence of nude painted bodies under UV light. In turn, his images aim to reveal a spectral vision of humanity that puts African cosmological narratives in the spotlight—drawing a connection between two entities invisible to the human eye and standard photographic equipment.
“The title Imagine Fresh Darkness challenges the viewer to reconceive darkness not as the absence of light but as a profound presence, teeming with unseen energies and narratives,” says the gallery. “In Owunna’s work, darkness becomes a canvas revealing the luminous and transcendent potential of the Black body, portrayed through a process that draws from the very essence of invisibility and blackness.”
Parting from the common thread of Black bodies shining under UV light, Owunna simultaneously explores a handful of intersecting cosmogonies and elevates his subjects into deity-like figures. For example, his image The Flying African is inspired by the enslaved Africans who escaped bondage by taking flight and returning to their African homelands, while Mmadu (The Enlightened One) presents an element from the Igbo way of life. “In this cosmology, the beauty of life is in becoming a fully realized, spiritually enlightened individual, an ‘enlightened one’ who is deeply connected to and draws on the primordial blackness of the Igbo creator god Chukwu.”
Imagine Fresh Darkness is on view at Blue Sky Gallery, Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts in Portland through June 29, 2024. To stay up to date with the artist’s work, you can follow Owunna on Instagram.
Multimedia artist Mikael Owunna turns the principles of photography to bring ancient African folklore to light in his new exhibition.
“Go Sa (Sister of the Dance)” (2019) 24” x 16” Archival inkjet print
Titled Imagine Fresh Darkness, it features 19 images from his groundbreaking photographic series Infinite Essence.
“Nommo Semi, Guardian of Space” (2019) 16” x 24” Archival inkjet print
“Infinite Essence redefines conventional notions of photography, which from its Greek roots—photos (light) and graphos (drawing)—is often understood as ‘drawing with light.’”
“Amma’s Womb” (2019) 24” x 16” Archival inkjet print
“However, Owunna’s approach subverts this foundational concept by utilizing ultraviolet light, which is invisible to the naked eye, to reveal and draw from the ‘blackness’ or darkness itself.”
“Mmadu (The Enlightened One)” (2019) 16” x 24” Archival inkjet print
To achieve this, Owunna built custom camera equipment that captures the fluorescence of nude painted bodies under UV light.
In turn, his images aim to reveal a spectral vision of humanity that puts African cosmological narratives in the spotlight
Imagine Fresh Darkness is on view at Blue Sky Gallery, Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts in Portland through June 29, 2024.
Mikael Owunna: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Blue Sky Gallery.