Aishah Olabisi Balogun
Project Statement
In this new body of work, I employ performance through self-portraiture, interfering with the viewer’s gaze and therefore their perception of me. I toy with my appearance, gender-bending and utilizing motion blur and light to further abstract my form. How I present in these works is a rejection of the expectations and assumptions of the outside world. I’ve found that often how I am seen and perceived rarely aligns with who I understand myself to be, and this project works against that. I take the power back into my own hands. I get to decide who sees me, in what form and how. This is why I work in self-portraiture to begin with.
Aishah Olabisi Balogun, untitled (boy pose)
Artist Bio
Aishah Olabisi Balogun is an interdisciplinary artist, working at the intersection of analog photography, video and, occasionally, poetry. Preferring to use her own body as a tool for experimentation, Balogun opts to place herself in front of the camera lens. For her, this feels the most effective, and the most freeing — acting as both subject and investigator. She considers origin, self-discovery, belonging, and familial histories. Rather than themes, they are understood as questions the artists must incessantly dissect. Every capture and creation is a manifestation of Balogun’s curiosities with our everyday– at times, deeply personal and others, more far removed. The inner turmoils and joys of being alive, a mysterious family archive, or even a newfound fascination with trees. Believing that the discoveries which come from creating are the most introspective, she hopes this work will allow her to better understand herself as well as the people and world around her. In the artist's process, she seeks to discover ancestors, uncover and recreate lost histories, and visualize unique stories that represent herself and those she is in community with.
Balogun received a B.A. in African American Studies from Princeton University. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Instagram: @aworanasa