A(spora) | SEEK Raleigh | Raleighnc.gov

Artist Statement

Jazsalyn’s A(spora) reinterprets Afro-Atlantic history through augmented scenes of the Gullah Geechee Corridor- a region of cultural significance to West African descendants, recognized as a National Heritage area, stretching along the costal plains from North Carolina to Florida. The digital landscape of A(spora) renders microscopic imagery of Indigenous African plant species, such as indigo (indigofera tinctoria) and okra (abelmoschus caillei), to transform the corridor through collage, artificial intelligence, and 3D simulation technologies. Each visual scene considers the significance of ancestral agricultural knowledge to contemporary industrial practices. A(spora) references the root term ‘spore’ within ‘diaspora’ to embrace the regenerative capacity of various life forms, knowledge systems, and African cultural practices that flourish in new environments despite displacement. Experienced as an interactive digital installation, A(spora) invites viewers to navigate its digital landscape.

The artwork is on view on the windows of the Chavis Commmunity Center.

About the Artist

Artist Jazsalyn, photo by Khoa Nguyen

Jazsalyn is an artist and researcher working where fiction and reality collide. Through alternative media and re-indigenization, her practice considers issues regarding data loss, memory restoration, and Ancestral Intelligence. She develops long-term projects with game engines, algorithmic processes, and video art to explore counter-futures and complex human-to-nonhuman knowledge systems. As a lecturer at The New School, she has built curricula on African and Diaspora rituals as speculative technology. She is the Artistic Director of the experimental curatorial project Black Beyond, where she curates exhibitions and experiences to envision alternate realities for (b)lackness. Her work has been supported by Serpentine Arts Technologies, New Museum, Pioneer Works, Creative Time, and more. She has been featured in publications such as Cultured Magazine, It’s Nice That, Vogue, and The New Yorker.

Instagram: @jazsalyn

About SEEK Raleigh

SEEK Raleigh is an experimental public art program by Raleigh Arts that engages the community through public art in City of Raleigh Parks, greenways, and/or community spaces. The program provides an opportunity for artists to introduce the public to new, unusual, and thought-provoking experiences through temporary public art.

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About Raleigh Arts

Raleigh Arts, a part of the City of Raleigh’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Department, fosters and promotes the arts in Raleigh by administering the programs of the Raleigh Arts Commission and the Public Art and Design Board and supporting the Pullen and Sertoma Arts Centers.

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