That Time I Wanted...
August 2021
That Time I Wanted To Be Seen.
The inspiration and process behind the collection.
Words by Adeniyi Okuboyejo
Photography by Zoran Jelenic
A conversation within Earth Dweller Mass. A sub-group that I belonged to on New Type’s Discourse group- which was created by Yegwa Ukpo.
During the lockdown, many of us developed spaces, tools, and rituals to help guide us through the chaos. Creating this collection during that time led me to explore examples of how we use each platform as a gateway to be seen in one form or another by ourselves or by G(g)od(s).
For space, we looked at buildings such as the Greater Refuge Temple in Harlem, and Francis Kere’s work. Greater Refuge Temple stands as a religious pillar in the Harlem community. Francis’ work is derived from decolonizing principles- building spaces that take into account the people and their land, using materials that work environmentally and culturally for the community. Some of our patterns and colors were informed by the multi-striped walls of Greater Refuge Temple as well as the clay and openings of Francis’ buildings.
For tools, we designed our embroideries and embellishments with cowrie shells (Items used by Ifa divination priests throughout West Africa) and glass beads adorned by numerous Massai tribes. We also developed a pattern that mimics that of a shekere, a West African percussion instrument. A gourd covered with a net as well as beads and cowrie shells, It is primarily used in ceremonial rituals that invoke sacred folkloric music in the African diaspora.
For rituals, I referenced the practices I took on during the pandemic. I regularly engaged in New Type, a philosophical community space created by a good friend of mine, Yegwa Ukpo. In that space, I developed deeper bonds with friends and collaborators through our shared practices. One of those practices was a role-playing game Yegwa developed within that space. In that role-playing game, I was given a quote that I was supposed to reflect on.
T- shirt from the collection, "That Time I Wanted To Be Seen" with poem graphic.
It read:
“THAT TIME I WANTED TO BE SEEN BY…”
What came from that quote was the following poem-
THAT TIME I WANTED TO BE SEEN BY…
MY PARTNER…
MY TRIBE…
MY SIBLINGS…
GOD…
gods…
MYSELF…
What this poem revealed to me was my desire to be seen by forces and people.
Humans have a desire to worship. Each day we wake up we decide who or what our gods will be. We create shrines and altars for them. We sacrifice something to them (Be it our time, finances, life, energy, etc).
It is a way for us to explain our existence. To know that someone, or something… sees us.
I hope that this collection inspires you to reflect on where you decide to dedicate your time as well as on the beings, spaces, and things that you want to be seen by.