Ochi Projects is pleased to present the first in a series of ongoing multimedia exhibitions by Rakeem Cunningham, #00 Niggas in Avalon. The exhibition will be featured in Ochi Projects’ online viewing room from September 29 – November 1, 2020.

Cunningham’s practice explores the nuances of the queer Black experience through photography, collage, installation and video, frequently incorporating images from popular culture and personal experience, focusing on queer identity politics, escapism, fantasy, mental health/trauma and self-acceptance. At first glance, Cunningham’s photographs appear to be playful, brightly colored self-portraits, but they are also deeply layered with personal and pop cultural reference, social commentary, and offering what Cunningham describes as a hopeful vision for a more liberated future for Black and queer people.

As an avid fan of manga, sci-fi, and fantasy, Cunningham incorporates aspects of his interests and passions into his work. Avalon, in the title, references Arthurian legend and the “fate stay night” universe where King Arthur is a woman named Artoria, who ultimately ascends to Avalon–a paradise utopia on the other side of the world. In this world, utopic Avalon is a state, and anyone is in its vicinity can feel its healing properties and affects. Cunningham sees himself as summoning this utopic state when making sets and creating these images. He describes them as a place where he feels he can be extravagant, flamboyant, weird, nerdy, without fear of being judged or even caring what others think.

Building each set is like building a mini slice of utopia where I imagine black people and LGBTQIA+ can exist freely as our true selves. A place where we can experiment, laugh, cry, jump for joy, be angry, and experience the full realm of our humanity. I find so often that Black people in the United States are always talked about in relation to our struggle, which is important to acknowledge and address, but so many times it feels like we’re not able to be anything but targets for police. THAT is draining. Hence the title “Niggas in Avalon” because we need that paradise for ourselves. 

Cunningham describes the impactful poses in the images as being inspired by Ernie Barnes, particularly by The Sugar Shack (1976), Barnes’ painting featured in the end credits of Good Times, a show he watched with his family as a child. While he would go on to study art, Cunningham notes that watching Good Times, and seeing this image, was his first real introduction to painting, and that something about the movement depicted in it captivated him.

It reminded me of when members of my church would “catch the holy ghost” and enter this state of what seemed like ecstasy. They would speak in tongues, shout and yell, with no care for what people thought of them. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized this was a release for them. They kept their frustration, anger, sadness, pain, and hurt locked up inside and would release it when they heard the pastor say something that applied to them. In a way, the church and the state of “having the holy ghost” was like a mini form of Avalon for them. A moment where they entered their own personal utopia.

This series, which focuses more dominantly on a selection of studio portraits taken by Cunningham over the course of a few years, serves as a point of departure for what will be an ongoing series of exhibitions, some taking on more physical manifestations as installations in the gallery, others as amalgamations of photographs, videos and collage works, on view on various platforms. Ochi Projects is thrilled to have an opportunity to work with Cunningham on this developing series, with Cunningham as a recent addition to the gallery’s artist roster.

Rakeem Cunningham (b. 1992) is a multimedia artist and photographer based in Los Angeles, California. Cunningham's work explores the many nuances of the queer black experience through photography, collage, installation, and video works. Cunningham often incorporates images from manga, anime, comics, and fashion magazines he’s consumed throughout his life, often in an attempt to subvert and identify tropes and stereotypes of blackness in media. While Cunningham focuses on queer identity politics, escapism, fantasy, self-acceptance, and the navigation of body politics under the queer landscape, he is also interested in exploration and interaction of materials. Cunningham received his BFA from the UCLA Design Media Arts department and is currently a member of Monte Vista Projects in Los Angeles.