U.U.P.A. Crust DARe to go FURther

Taking into consideration the staggering range of diversity that the African Diaspora has to offer, Dare to go Further aims to investigate and reveal many enigmatic layers. We are fastidiously addressing the presence of stereotypes, myths, and cultural similarities of both African-Americans and native Africans. Robert Hodge, Lovie Olivia, and Michael Kahlil Taylor of the UUPA Crust Collective are exploring and navigating beyond the surface of many beliefs associated with certain communities. In forms of visual narratives, paintings, and mixed media on paper, we analyze the adaptation and mutability of culture.

The artists UUPA Crust share a common fascination for cross-continental interactions, and the parallelisms despite lost and altered history of individuals, particularly those whose roots are African. Cleverly hidden in the show title is the region of DARFUR which caught the attention of all of us. We felt that the mass Media’s handling of the information was discerning. This motivated us to pry further into how blacks are globally received. From our neighborhoods and beyond we celebrate our culture and heritage by daring to go beyond the newspapers and T.V.screens. This is expressed visually and metaphorically. In this past year, the members have traveled to the African continent, the Caribbean, and the common melting pot of New Orleans Louisiana to gather detail. In the tradition of anthropologists, we have spent time gathering and cataloging to bring us steps closer to these visual resolutions.

From Kenya, the Caribbean to New Orleans and back to our neighborhood blocks we’ve witnessed the cultural exchange and contrast that we wish to express in these works. . Various symbols of wealth, status, and spiritual practices are relevant through tattoos, scarification, piercings, and elaborate coiffures as forms of identification. Myth, folklore, spirituality, and hip-hop harmoniously blend into a visual amalgamation expressed through, DARe to go FURther.