Circle Dance

Circle Dance expresses the thesis of the Congo Square visual-album. Its name is derived from the work of New Orleans based artist John T. Scott, who is notable for explicitly employing what he referred to as “jazz-thinking” in his creative works. “That is, the jazz musicians are always in the ‘now’ while you’re hearing it, but these guys are incredibly aware of where they have been and have an unbelievable anticipation of where they are going. They do all three of these things at the same time. And I refer to this as jazz thinking, or spherical thinking." With Circle Dance, I employ this spherical thinking by visually appropriating the digital forms of a British capstan dated circa 1835, using an artifact that reinforces the transatlantic motif, as well as a Benin bronze cast dated around the 19th century; bringing the transatlantic past in conversation with the present, through the allusion of Dr. Glaude’s speech, and projecting this dialogue into a futuristic utopia.