Otieno’s Dream by Justice 4 Tyranny

A new exhibit on display at 274 14th St:

Africans are the target of a vicious propaganda campaign designed to squander hopes, ambitions, and self confidence. It promotes self destructive cycles and creates a racial inferiority bias within the subconscious mind.

My newest series “Otieno’s Dream” deals with that subconscious mind metaphorically. It is a counter narrative to the projected portraits of weakness. It is much like my other work, heavy in symbolism and visual allegory, but very different in delivery.

On the surface, it is a lucid precognitive dream in the mind of a revolutionary. I wanted to depict an urban guerrilla war; led by those most oppressed, combating the system of their oppression. I also wanted to depict the qualities of life after an uprising.

Within the subtext, it presents strength over powerlessness and depicts alternative perspectives of justice, honor, and love. It promotes ideologies rooted in West African theology, fused with the repressed terrors and secret desires of a freed African diaspora mind.

About the Artwork: “Ibere”

“Ibere” is a revolutionary homecoming of one’s self and love of identity, coupled with the clash between justice for the oppressed within an unjust system of tyranny.

The devotion of the purple flame signifies the devotees magic spells ablazed on the West African sword. That sword of harvest is married with red flames of desire and blue flames of justice.

The mystical sword ablaze has harvested a revolutionary flame burning throughout the city. Otieno’s mind struggles with the sacrifice of self for true justice and to honor and complete his ancestral promise. Peony flowers symbolize that honor and a perfect marriage of desire for justice through love and sacrifice.