FROM AFRICA TO ETERNITY
THE REMIX
Masks of the African Diaspora
Coming Soon To:
Eastside Community Network(ECN)
@ The Stoudamire Wellness Hub
March 2025
4401 Conner St., Detroit, MI 48215
“Money Man”. Mixed Media. Dimensions Variable. 2021.
“Lark Allen III’s Collection, Africa to Eternity reflects an Ancient African heritage. In “Money Man,” for example, a mask plastered with coins and paper money, may symbolize African Americans’ arduous journey into America’s White, consumer capitalist society. The money on its face implicitly questions our unique displacement. Geometric blocks of wood protrude from a diamond-shaped, wooden face, and echo the work of Ancient African artisans who crafted similar masks traditionally worn during ancient African rituals on certain parts of the continent”.
Isaac V. Allen
“The urbanization Black America can be observed through works like “Jungle Boogie”(Mixed Media. Dimensions Variable. 2021.) A old shower head represents the mask’s nose, while two old CDs serve as eyes. Its red brick design could well represent the graffiti, and possibly breakdancing, aspects of Hip Hop music. The headphone set indicates ears of a DJ informed through musical devices and a connectivity shown as wires plug the top of the mask which look like long dreadlocks for hair”.
Isaac V. Allen
“Blown High”
Mixed Media. 2021
“The mask encapsulates the many pitfalls, diseases and harmful habitual behavior that befalls African American communities. In the facial features of “Blown High,” viewers observe images of a miniature beer can rim for eyes, a product consumed rampantly throughout enclaves of poor Black communities nationwide and globally. Popular brand labels such as Colt 45, Newport, Hennessy, and Ramon remind viewers of the harmful products that huge segments of the African American population consume as a means of coping with the daily stresses and oppression experienced by Blacks and other minorities. As these mega conglomerates target poor African American communities, GMO food industries labels contribute heavily to the poor health of the very same segments of American society. The labels on the mask confront the destructive messages which are continually emitted to the African American demographic, a calculated peddling of harmful products which likely are responsible for the higher mortality rates often present in poor Black neighborhoods”.
Isaac V. Allen
B
”
“As the artist superimposes the globe onto the work’s smooth glossy brown face, the Black diaspora spreads across the planet. Its culture must navigate through and around obstacles which could potentially prevent successful assimilation into the dominant society. Though not always smooth sailing the artist implies that through our global connections via virtual Internet worlds, we can eventually find the way home through these shared connections. The oval mouth is shaped like a canoe. The nose shaped like an arrow pointing south to the canoe mouth. But the canoe exhibits an opening at the bottom port side of its hull which means the boat takes in lots of water, an obstruction which threatens to sink the craft before the journey’s completion”.
Isaac V. Allen
“Moreover, the collection questions our understanding of how consumer capitalist ideologies influence the African diaspora. “Welfare Queen,” an oval-shaped mask adorned with bracelets, ruby-like ornaments, and glittering strips of cloth, seemingly illustrates our infatuation with the American market’s continual commercialization of ostentatious items to the poor Black masses. Ironically, Lark fashions all of his work with found materials. The wood for masks in this particular collection comes strictly from random pieces of wood which he then shapes by hand. Yet “Welfare Queen’s” costume jewelry, along with its discarded computer cords and wires, which serve as flowing hair, conveys our global society’s preoccupation with assimilation into “civilized,” and even more, “higher” society”.
Isaac V. Allen
World-building and the African American use of the Internet: interestingly, one particular mask is assembled with old computer parts entirely. Various components, particularly individual computer keyboard keys emerge as prominent on the face. The stucco backdrop matches the actual material from which the mask is crafted. Its light gray tone set against shades of black accentuate the mask’s desire and yearning for connection to a meaningful existence. Yet the fragmented face exposes the inner electrical components meant to operate electrical devices. The dingy HOME, SHIFT, BACKSPACE, CTRL, and ENTER keys scattered randomly all across the face reinforce such major themes in the collection as cultural displacement, consumerism, industry, and capitalist ideology: the plexiglass background. Additional cords and wires serve for hair and may well represent the electrical energy which flows through the African diaspora and virtually connects us to an African heritage as we enter a new world, year, or space. As we adopt new virtual spaces users search for a virtual home away from home. An essential shift in ways of thinking and adapting to strange ideologies in a foreign land occurs, as participants struggle to preserve, vanguard, and/or protect traditional cultural identities.
