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Artworks
Alisa Sikelianos-Carter USA, b. 1983
The Greater the People the Wider the Cascade, 2022Acrylic, gouache, pearl mica, black mica, and glitter on archival paper
26 5/8 x 77 3/8 x 1 in
67.6 x 196.5 x 2.5 cm8361Further images
Cascade is defined as “a process whereby something, typically information or knowledge, is successively passed on,” and as a verb is to, “(of water) pour downward rapidly and in large...Cascade is defined as “a process whereby something, typically information or knowledge, is successively passed on,” and as a verb is to, “(of water) pour downward rapidly and in large quantities.” These dual meanings take hold in this work where an assembly of ancient beings come to form. Standing or floating in an infinite blue space, seven figures exist in a cascade of shimmering Blackness. Half human, half God, their bodies have evolved overtime towards an ancient purpose. Where our torsos would be, their bodies open upwards into a kinetic web. The shape of each individual body is reminiscent of the gramophone. A quality of sonic projection comes alive in their shape, and when connected, begets a sense of collective language, tone and frequency. Together, they echo. They are keepers of a kinetic stillness, a place for cosmic secrets to be held safely for future travelers. The pattern of their formation blurs the bounds between micro and macro geographies: From outer space or underwater galaxies, to the coils growing from a Black person’s scalp. They are a root system, from our hair to the underground root systems of trees and mycelium. The complexities of their aliveness and sonic language are kept internal, opaque to outsiders who may only catch glimpses of light shimmering off the surface of their Blackness. (Description provided by the artist.)1of 2