Groundbreaking Installation of Black Queer Deities by Marques Redd and Mikael Owunna Premieres at the Pittsburgh Glass Center on May 3
A new installation by Marques Redd and Mikael Owunna, executive directors of the art | tech | spirituality nonprofit organization Rainbow Serpent, premieres at the Pittsburgh Glass Center on May 3, 2024.
Myth-Science of the Gatekeepers is a collection of 16 life-size glass statues of Black queer Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) deities. These statues are deeply woven into Rainbow Serpent’s larger explorations of African cosmologies, multimedia art, innovative healing protocols, and emerging technologies.
“This project is a revival and expansion of the traditions of gatekeepers, an ancient African lineage of queer spirit workers, artisans, and diviners, and it presents to the world a new Afro-diasporic spiritual system that is grounded in and celebrates Black queer divinity,” said Owunna.
The multimedia installation is a modern take on Kemetic granodiorite statues, which are traditionally made of a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock similar to granite. The busts for this exhibition are made of glass using a lost wax casting process. They are affixed with headpieces fabricated with glassblowing and hot sculpting techniques.
Redd stated, “‘Myth-science’ is our way of exploring the deep connections between spirituality, technology, and art and how these elements can coalesce to reveal new dimensions of understanding and expression. Our work aims to initiate a dialogue on the enduring relevance of African ancestral wisdom, interpret it in a new way through the medium of glass, and transfigure our perceptions of the cosmos. Our partnership with the Pittsburgh Glass Center has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share this transformative experience with the ancestors, our living colleagues, and generations yet to be born.”
The installation opens at Pittsburgh Glass Center on Friday, May 3, 2024, and it runs until July 28, 2024.
A free opening celebration that the creators are calling “an endarkening and life-giving event” will be held on Friday, May 3, from 6-9pm in the Hodge Gallery at Pittsburgh Glass Center.
This exhibition is made possible with support from The Heinz Endowments; the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation; Arts, Equity, & Education Fund; Dawn and Chris Fleischner; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Arts Alliance for Contemporary Glass; the Carnegie Mellon University Extended Reality Technology Center; and the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry Director's Fund.
Images featured are provided by Marques Redd and Mikael Owunna. All photographs copyright © 2024 Marques Redd and Mikael Owunna
About the Contributors
Rainbow Serpent
Rainbow Serpent is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to advancing Black LGBTQ culture through the exploration of emerging technologies, innovative healing protocols, African cosmologies, and multimedia art. Rainbow Serpent is dedicated to promoting and celebrating the diversity and richness of Black LGBTQ culture while advancing healing and empowerment within the community. The organization’s largest aim is to create a new radiant reality, one as resplendent and diverse as the Rainbow and as fertile and enduring as the Serpent. www.therainbowserpent.org
Mikael Owunna
Mikael Owunna, the Co-Founder/Executive Director of Rainbow Serpent, is a Nigerian American multimedia artist, filmmaker, and engineer who explores the intersections of technology, art, and African cosmologies. Owunna’s work has been exhibited across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America and has been collected by institutions such as the Nasher Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Middlebury College Museum of Art; Equal Justice Initiative; Duke University Pratt School of Engineering; and National Taiwan Museum. His work has also been featured in media ranging from the New York Times to CNN, NPR, VICE, and The Guardian. He has lectured at venues including Harvard Law School, World Press Photo (Netherlands), Tate Modern (UK), and TEDx. Owunna has published two monographs: Limitless Africans (FotoEvidence, 2019) and Cosmologies(ClampArt, 2021). Owunna’s multimedia practice includes photography, film, animation, and live performance. His work has been commissioned for major public art installations by organizations including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Foundation, Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh International Airport, and Orange Barrel Media. www.mikaelowunna.com
Dr. Marques Redd
A multimedia artist, independent scholar, and traditional African cosmologist, Marques Redd is the Co-Founder/Executive Director of Rainbow Serpent. He was the director of Obi Mbu (The Primordial House), an experimental dance film about the creation of the world, and The Four World Ages, a multimedia live performance about the unfolding of human history. He has led multi-day retreats and workshops on African ritual around the country; published scholarly essays on figures such as the jazz musician Sun Ra, novelist Ishmael Reed, and art collective Women of Visions; and curated art exhibitions in several cities around the country, including Denver, Miami, Tampa, Columbus, Cleveland, Baltimore, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Macon. www.marquesredd.com