Monuments: Afro-Surrealist Landmarks and (In)visible Worlds (referred to as Monuments) is an immersive multimedia installation created and curated by Salma Vir-Banks. Inspired by a series of digital collages created by Vir-Banks in 2022, Monuments is a visual and somatic art experience encouraging viewers to engage in a multi sensory journey through an Afro-surrealist lens. As a concept Afro-surrealism posits that the real lived experiences of marginalized peoples are in fact surreal due to the systems of oppression and incapacitation that forcibly distort and contort our lives. A synonym for surreal, bizarre, accurately depicts the conditions the others must occupy. Conversely, surrealist escapism, prevalent among European artists in the early 20th century, has long been a method utilized by Black consciousness since our first encounters with white supremacy. Monuments is an imagined reparation for the African diaspora – it is a surrealist dreamscape where the Black body of the present day is not only revered but simultaneously left alone. Free to be – without repulsion or exotification.

The installation includes three large scale paintings which form a triptych, a large scale sculpture, and curated projection mapping and sound. The intention of the piece is to both recognize and reject the narrative of white supremacy, anti-blackness and their continued impacts on all marginalized communities. The usage of landmarks is also a reference to the recent recall of several Confederate statues honoring slave owners and war criminals. Instead Vir-Banks presents these landmarks as “alternative icons” to celebration in a bizarre yet beautiful reality.

"Afro-Surrealism presupposes that beyond this visible world, there is an invisible world striving to manifest, and it is our job to uncover it." D. Scot Miller, 2009 Afro-Surrealist Manifesto

PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE BY SALMA VIR-BANKS

 Council Member 17
Acrylic on Canvas
63” X 76”
2023

Council Member 526
Acrylic on Canvas
63” X 76”
2023

Monuments I
Animated Digital Collage
63” X 82”
2022

Council Mother 13
Pal Tiya Clay Sculpture
4’ x 3’ x 5’8”
2023

Artist Statement:

As an interdisciplinary and intermodal artist, there are various avenues and modalities through which I can express my core desires as a creator. My work is always a celebration of synthesis as well as rebirth and redemption. As a Black American, my work aims to reclaim what is sacred for Black American culture – one of the most appropriated and exported cultures of our time. And as a 2nd generation East Indian, I am constantly faced with the remnants of colonialism and all the ways we (as South Asians) cling to and reject its omnipresence. My visual two-dimensional work often takes the form of surreal and expressionist archetypal portraiture, where vibrant colors, street art, mythology, South Asian motifs, and Black American iconography form gracious and vivacious intersections. My most recent work explores the art/creative process as ritual for BIPOC healing and regeneration. These works are deeply informed by my own ongoing recovery from substance abuse, disordered eating, and trauma - both personal and intergenerational. In addition to visual and conceptual art I also create and design jewelry, dance, and tattoo as forms of creative language. All my creative avenues intersect to encourage personal and intergenerational change. For me, creation and healing are never separate.

PROJECTION MAPPING BY EVA GECZY AND SALMA VIR-BANKS

 SOUNDSCAPE AND MUSIC BY QUELA ROBINSON

 ORIGINAL POEM “We’re Whippin Whites in Mama’s Favorite Pots”

WRITTEN AND RECITED BY EZEKIEL NANCE