with artworks by CRICE
I enter the poet’s work only in death. The story of a murder crosses the globe
in a heartbeat or breath and people everywhere are talking. The act of dying
opens so many chests. Outside, Poe stares at me from within a raven and I shout
at him, “remove yourself, you stupid man!” And yet the winged individual
remains, due to what I have read, every black bird is weighed down by a sickly
sad man. How depressing. I shake the image into a caw, tree tops, an unsolveable
mystery. Anyway, people are grieving a music lost, and I am listening as they fall
deeper into themselves. The Venn diagram of those who believe that love at first
sight is a myth & people who burst into tears the instant they learn of a loved one
passing is a perfect circle—how knowledge enters the body and when it leaves
are the greatest concerns of those determined to make their own meaning.
By coincidence, it is they who wind up faithless, alone with their hands and the
whim of chance. The Arctic is melting, a phrase I resolutely do not understand.
Can any of us? To stand under means ‘to be close to’ and we cannot be close
to what is vanishing, which is the world,
or at least the parts I live on and that I must admit I enjoy more than I once
imagined. Here to vanish is to become unfamiliar, hostile, strange—a polar bear
in Aldi, a headless pig galloping, a name unending.
SKHMT, AP1S, AMVN
“Taking inspiration from Apis, Amun, and Sekhmet, this series of works – skhmt, AP1s, and AMVN (2019) – reflects our historic need for divine social intervention. Sometimes what’s needed is drastic. Sometimes transcendence can seem cruel. When we learn who we really are then our mission becomes clear. Old venerations can still hold use. Sometimes we need a little help though. This is the dawning of a new age, but before the poles can shift there must be a realignment.
Listen to Anthrax’s Madhouse and The 5th Dimension’s Age of Aquarius interchangeably.
By employing ancient symbols and blending them with a modern sensibility, my art seeks to distort our preconceived notions of human history. We can begin to shift the modern paradigm by changing the visual narrative of colonization. Thus our shared divinity becomes apparent. Taking visual inspiration from hieroglyphs and graffiti, my work chronicles the issues and motifs of pan-Africanist realities across time and space. By reflecting on colonized and formerly enslaved people’s hidden histories we can then begin to envision our own future beyond subjugation and oppression. I seek to push the boundaries of preconceived mediums and blend styles towards a holistic approach to art. My practice is a lens to view and display my thoughts and experiences with “the American dream.” I use art as a means for ostracized populations to exert their influence on their communities and by extension the world.” ~ CRICE
OMAR SAKR writer
Omar Sakr is an award-winning poet born and raised in Western Sydney to Lebanese Muslim and Turkish Muslim migrants. He is the author of These Wild Houses (Cordite Books, 2017) and The Lost Arabs (Andrews McMeel, 2020). In 2019, Omar was the recipient of the Edward Stanley Award for Poetry.
CRICE artist
CRICE is Connor Rice, an award winning multi-media artist from Southside Minneapolis. His work is heavily inspired by hip-hop, street art and ancient propaganda. He uses art to document the issues and motifs of pan-Africanist realities throughout time and space.
© Copyright for all texts published in Stillpoint Magazine are held by the authors thereof, and for all visual artworks by the visual artists thereof, effective from the year of publication. Stillpoint Magazine holds copyright to all additional images, branding, design and supplementary texts across stillpointmag.org as well as in additional social media profiles, digital platforms and print materials. All rights reserved.
