A QUIET LEAP FORWARD
A COLLABORATIVE COLLECTION BY G3NEGRAPHY & KOME ELEYAE
“A QUIET LEAP FORWARD” IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN MYSELF AND MULTI-DISCIPLINARY VISUAL ARTIST G3NEGRAPHY, CREATING A SERIES OF LARGE AND SMALL SCALE MIXED-MEDIA PIECES
THAT EXPLORE AND CELEBRATE WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO COME OF AGE IN LONDON.
THE CITY IS ALWAYS IN MOTION, AND SO ARE WE: STUMBLING BETWEEN NOISE AND STILLNESS, CAUGHT IN CONSTANT TRANSITION. “ONE MISTEP AWAY FROM MISFORTUNE AND JUST A SLICE OF LUCK AWAY FROM BLISS.” THESE WORKS ATTEMPT TO HOLD SPACE FOR THAT EXPERIENCE.
THE DIZZYING HIGHS, THE QUIET CRASHES, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
PHOTOGRAPHY FORMS A LARGE PART OF G3NEGRAPHY’S PRACTICE WITH HIM LEADING THE MAJORITY OF THE REFERENCE SHOOTING, CAPTURING FLEETING MOMENTS THAT FELT HONEST AND UNRESOLVED. FROM THERE, WE BUILT THE FINAL COMPOSITIONS TOGETHER. THEN I PAINT THE FIGURES IN OIL AND ACRYLIC, WHILE G3NEGRAPHY AND I WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE ATMOSPHERIC BACKDROPS, USING A WIDE RANGE OF MEDIA IN DRAMATIC GRADIENTS THAT HOLD A KIND OF EMOTIONAL TEMPERATURE THAT GROUNDS EACH PIECE.
THIS COLLECTION IS ABOUT THE TENSION BETWEEN CHAOS AND CLARITY, BETWEEN THE CITY’S NOISE AND THE SOLITUDE WE STEAL FOR OURSELVES. EACH WORK IS A FRAGMENT OF THAT IN-BETWEEN SPACE,
WHERE IDENTITY IS STILL FORMING AND EVERYTHING FEELS URGENT, FRAGILE, AND REAL.
ALL PIECES FROM THE COLLECTION WILL BE SHOWN IN OUR DUO EXHIBITION—DATE TBC. STAY TUNED.
COMPLETED WORKS
Inn3r Discord
[ACRYLIC & SPRAY PAINT ON CANVAS 30X30CM]
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"THOUGHTS STILL PLAGUE ME
AS SEASONS CHANGE
AND AFTERNOONS TURN GLOOMY AND CRISP,
THEY FOLLOW ME INTO THE COLD.
SMOTHERING GREEN SHOOTS,
AND BLOTTING OUT THE LIGHT
I NEVER USED TO FEEL SO LOST.
SO NOW I EXIST HERE,
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN DECISION AND DOUBT
WATCHING USELESSLY
AS THE VINDICTIVE MIND BURIES THE KIND THOUGHT
AND THE CALM MIND RALLIES FOR ITS RETURN.
DRAGGING MY SELF THROUGH EACH DAY
ONE MISTEP AWAY FROM MISFORTUNE
AND JUST A SLICE OF LUCK AWAY FROM BLISS
HALF WAY HURT, HALF WAY HAPPY.
NEVER IN LESS THAN 2 MINDS.
OR FULLY MYSELF
BUT UNLIKE ANYONE ELSE
& RELENTLESSLY, INESCAPABLY HOPEFUL."
WORDS BY KOME ELEYAE
THIS WORK EXPLORES THE INTRICATE SPIRALS OF OVERTHINKING, WHERE THOUGHT LOOPS BECOME BOTH A BURDEN AND A MIRROR. WITHIN THESE CYCLES, MULTIPLE VERSIONS OF THE SELF EMERGE—FRAGMENTED, LAYERED, AND SOMETIMES AT ODDS WITH ONE ANOTHER. THE PIECE REFLECTS THE TENSION BETWEEN CLARITY AND CONFUSION, REVEALING HOW INNER DIALOGUE CAN DISTORT, MULTIPLY, AND RESHAPE IDENTITY IN ENDLESS MOTION.
*Escap3 Into the Light*
[OIL, ACRYLIC AND GRAPHITE PENCIL ON MAPLE SKATEBOARD DECK]
ESCAP3 INTO THE LIGHT IS A LUMINOUS AND EMOTIONALLY RESONANT PIECE THAT CAPTURES THE QUIET BUT POWERFUL MOMENTUM OF HOPE. THE COMPOSITION IS SUFFUSED WITH A FORWARD-FACING ENERGY, SYMBOLIZING THE HUMAN INSTINCT TO MOVE TOWARD CLARITY, GROWTH, AND POSSIBILITY, EVEN WHEN THE PATH AHEAD IS UNKNOWN.
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WE ARE CONSTANTLY IN TRANSIT. BETWEEN EMOTIONAL PEAKS AND VALLEYS, GLOOMY AFTERNOONS TO CRYSTAL CLEAR SCORCHING SUMMER DAYS. FROM THE LOUD DARKNESS OF THE TUNNELS WE USE TO NAVIGATE THE CITY, TO THE BRIEF LIGHT FLOODED MOMENTS OF ESCAPE FROM THE SUBTERRANEAN ABYSS. AT THE HEART OF THIS WORK IS A TRANSITIONAL SPACE, WHERE SHADOW MEETS LIGHT. THE "ESCAP3" IMPLIED BY THE TITLE IS NOT FROM DANGER, BUT FROM LIMITATION, FEAR, DOUBT, OR THE WEIGHT OF THE PAST. THE LIGHT REPRESENTS NOT ONLY A LITERAL SOURCE OF ILLUMINATION, BUT THE PROMISE OF GOOD THINGS YET TO COME.
RITMO AGBARA
[OIL AND ACRYLIC ON WOODEN BOARD 100 X 100CM]
RITMO AGBARA IS A CELEBRATION OF THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF DANCE—A VIBRANT HOMAGE TO THE ENERGY, FREEDOM, AND CONNECTION FOUND ON THE DANCE FLOOR. CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NIGERIAN-COLOMBIAN COLLECTIVE BAILE IJO, THIS PIECE CAPTURES THE MOMENT WHEN MUSIC DISSOLVES ALL BARRIERS:
NO PHONES, NO DISTANCE, NO NEED TO HOLD BACK.
IT IS ABOUT SURRENDERING FULLY TO RHYTHM, ABOUT DISAPPEARING INTO THE DANCE WITHIN THE DANCE, WHERE ONLY MOVEMENT, SOUND, AND SHARED PRESENCE REMAIN. THE WORK CHANNELS THE COLLECTIVE SPIRIT OF JOY, RELEASE, AND TOGETHERNESS THAT MUSIC INSPIRES, REMINDING US THAT THE DANCE FLOOR IS NOT JUST A SPACE OF EXPRESSION, BUT OF COMMUNION. IN A CITY THAT NEEDS MORE OF THIS OPENNESS, RITMO AGBARA INSISTS ON THE POWER OF RHYTHM TO DRAW US CLOSER, LOUDER, AND UNBOUND.
Imminent Spring
[MIXED MEDIA ON MAPLE SKATEBOARD DECK WITH PATINATED HARDWARE]
THE FIRST IN A NEW COLLABORATIVE SERIES WITH G3NEGRAPHY, THIS PIECE IS A HOPEFUL ODE TO THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING. A SEASON WHEN VITALITY STIRS AND A SHARED SENSE OF RENEWAL TAKES ROOT. IT REFLECTS THAT QUIET BUT POWERFUL SHIFT, WHEN THE WEIGHT OF WINTER BEGINS TO LIFT AND LIFE GRADUALLY REGAINS ITS BRIGHTNESS,
CARRYING WITH IT A COLLECTIVE SENSE OF GROWTH.
