Jason Harris ('15) on Afrofuturism, African Diaspora, Music, etc.

From Black Speculative Arts Digital Archive

1. What was the inspiration for the creation of “MotherShip: MotherVerse”?

“MotherShip:MotherVerse” was conceived as part of a public Afrofuturism exhibit entitled “The MotherShip Connection.” Poet, Community Builder and Afrofuturist Olu Butterfly conceived this idea and asked me to be one of her collaborators. This was an opportunity for us to mount an exhibit at Artscape, which is the largest outdoor public art festival in the U.S. The Mothership Connection allowed us to connect the work of some of the amazing artists here in Baltimore with the community. The title of the show is obviously a reference to the famous Parliament tune as well as their now enshrined stage prop. Olu however had a different concept of what a Mothership could be – she was interested in portraying the Mothership as a more organic structure, something earthy yet capable of travel. This involved us building an actual ship. Inside the ship, we decided to have a screen that depicted travel, gave a brief primer of Afrofuturism and then told a story. So I took on those tasks. I cobbled together a primer, which was okeydoke at best, but then I really got hooked on creating a short that extended Olu’s original vision. Toni Morrison has a quote that says “Black Woman is both ship and safe harbor.”

That quote has always resonated with me, and in the context of thinking about the idea of a “Mothership,” I found it odd that Motherships as they are portrayed in popular culture are always under the control of men. Be it George Clinton or the males in The Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or even NOI Theory. Motherships always function in service of men. That contradicts the energy of Morrison’s quote. Thus, I saw this as an opportunity to create an image of a Mothership that is first and foremost women-centered and in doing so I visually approached the idea from a literal and figurative context.

Read the rest of the post here: Jason Harris in BSADArchive

Jason Harris (’15) on Afrofuturism, African Diaspora, Music, etc.

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