As Toni Morrison suggests, Beauty™ can feel irrelevant in today’s violent world order. We waste precious energy maintaining the delusion that the white-supremacist construct is valid self-expression.
Meanwhile, it expresses little validity about us beyond perhaps how well we can assimilate into its delusions of status. But can Black aesthetics transcend beauty? Can they be relevant and functional to our liberation? To imagine our self-expression beyond beauty, we must imagine ourselves beyond the systems that have created it, in a space and time beyond coloniality. This is the central provocation of Afrofuturism.
Afrofuturism is an invocation of our creative wilderness, inviting us to stretch past the bounds of our anti-Black realities into our imaginations of worlds beyond them. These fantasies become self-expressed in multitudes, from Octavia Butler‘s grotesque premonitions of Black people’s heroic apocalypse survival to the celestial stylings of June Tyson’s vocals and costumes for Sun Ra’s Arkestra, who advertised that “space is the place.”
Many Afrofuturist themes transcend mere aesthetics. Examples include the affinity for the alien as reclamation of our alienation, psychedelic illusions that normalize the absurd madness of Blackness, and embodying the agency of over-extracted African metals through the digital and androidic. Additionally, it can involve the queering and feminization of Black cultural themes, and euphoric ideals of Black utopias. One of Afrofuturism’s most profound thematic codes lies in its use and abstraction of the archival. This device is a vital reminder that the past, the present, and the future all exist now, and to imagine what is next, we must remember what was.
“There are Black people in the future!” The movement erupts with excitement! This exclamation is a self-affirming one, especially in today’s world order where we are constantly being convinced otherwise. The mask is off on these systems’ violent threats on women and femmes—especially those who are queer, trans, gender non-conforming, poor, disabled, mad, and within intersections of multiple social margins.
In context, especially as Black women, femmes, and themmes have always frontlined innovations in Afrofuturism, the movement decentralizes Beauty and its standards, since it is an extension of the systems of oppression that contribute to violence against us. Afrofuturists are creators that affirm the infinite possibilities of Black existence, instead validating that, in the words of The Afrosurrealist Manifesto, “all ‘others’ who create from their actual, lived experience are surrealist…”
Below, ESSENCE quantum dived into the radically creative minds of 5 Black artists who specialize in Afrofuturistic self-expression, asking them how they affirm their imaginations and resist systems of oppression with their creativity.
Sky Somalia
Sky Somalia is a nail tech based in New York City who is known for her bold, surreal, and colorful designs. From avant garde acrylic applications to other worldly creature prints and cartoon portraiture, Sky pushes boundaries of design and creates a new trend everyday.
“Afrofuturism is the entire reason for there being a future to begin with. {My nails} feel like a form of resistance in terms of my desire to push my art to the next level and really allow my creativity to flow and not fear the unknown,” Somalia tells ESSENCE. “I’m very big on making my art appear larger and bigger. I’ve always been a maximalist so I’m a strong believer in wearing something with a purpose. Go big or go home.” As for the inspiration behind her Marché Rue Dix campaign nails, pictured below? “When I think about Egyptian history and what it represents, although it existed in the past, the aesthetics and the energy still exists to this day, and we are currently in what they would consider to be the future,” she says.
Sala Damali White
Sala Damali White is a Black, queer, half-blind, disabled artist based in the metro Detroit area who is a practicing surrealist makeup artist. Where many use the word “paint” as slang for a conventional beauty beat, Damali White takes the phrase literally, turning their face into a canvas on which they etch vibrant, abstract looks adorned in bold lines and shapes, meaningful symbols, and highly conceptual crafts. An exciting aspect of Sala’s art on social media is their flex in a recurring hashtag, #IDidThisWithOneEye.
“I believe that afrofuturism aesthetics are a Black artist’s key tool against oppression. Outward appearance is so vital that it can completely transform a culture. I carry resistance through the simple yet powerful act of continuing,” Damali White says. “White supremacy wants us to stop: to stop creating, to stop being, to stop living. Creating art in this world is an active resistance all on its own.”
KING COBRA
KING COBRA is a Black artist from Philadelphia who specializes in body modifications. From Cobra’s “protective style” designs to the intricate portraiture of animals and other worldly beings, KING COBRA asserts that the rebellious roots and futurism of tattooing lives in practice through radical community engagement. Cowrie shells, long, braided figures, and abstracted archival symbols are recurring themes in KING COBRA’s creations.
“My entire tattoo practice is about resistance—whether it shows up in the imagery, the conversations we share during the tattoo session or the conversations and connections generated out in the world after the tattoo is healed and a part of someone’s body,” KING COBRA says. “Old objects, new magic. As long as I’m tattooing, I know I’m contributing to a collective community effort that ensures Black people proudly embrace body modification, physical and spiritual endurance, symbology, and the power of ritual in the future.”
Kya Angelou
Kya Angelou is a Black artist based in Atlanta who specializes in tattoos. She is known for her psychedelic portraits and boldly mythic designs that are tailored for dark skin tones as a meta expression of reverence for the Black body.
“I carry Afrofuturism in my tattoos by pushing fine art inspired body art that is both bold and captivating on darker skin tones. My style (called Black Avant-Garde) uses imagery that is sourced from fantasy paired with colorful abstract compositions,” she says. “My art reflects resistance, against those who believe you cannot tattoo color on darker complexions. My art also encourages introspection, embracing endless possibilities.”
Shanna Anise
Shanna Anise is an award-winning holistic natural hair architect from the DMV area. Shanna has been all over the map coiffing natural hair into futuristic hairstyles with traditional influences, led by her personal motto, “Stay out the damn box!” Her work featured on social media often highlights children, who are changemakers and world-builders of the future, which inadvertently adds to the futurism of her design.
“I merge my love for history with visions of what has yet to be seen. The unknown becomes my paintbrush, shaping every braid, curl, twist, puff, and loc. I know my purpose, so I walk confidently in my lane, free from the pressure of comparison,” she says. “God blessed me with a unique gift, and I embrace it fully. I will continue to stay humble, grow as an artist, and embrace this creative journey—one with no limits.”
