Richard-Jonathan Nelson

Lives and works in San Francisco, CA

Artist statement

My works motivation is to expand modern definitions of Black existence through the boundless imaginative possibilities within Speculative Fiction. Through textiles, video, photography, and makeup I reinterpret the Black body not as a simple caricature of identity but as an undiscovered impetus for cultural evaluation. By reconstructing Black bodies, culture, and experiences through the prism of Science Fiction I make apparent the diversity and nuance Western culture so easily ignores. I also reference the southern gothic roots of my upbringing to create Afrosurrealist realities where the Diasporas relationship to reality isn’t limited to a faulty western gaze. Science fiction exists in a hypothetical space between imagination, prediction, and speculation of what our world will be in the coming expanses of time. However, rarely is the Diaspora present in these alternate dimensions and proto-formed worlds. Never is that more apparent as when I navigate the Bay Area and observe its constant technological advancements and prophecies of our futures. Because of this absence of Blackness in the future, I wonder how are we further integrating systems of inequality into prospective technological and cultural systems? My work is a visually engulfing reminder that Blackness can and should exist within modern speculation of the future. In addition the Diaspora its history and culture are a rich well of knowledge very rarely tapped or engaged with as a philosophical system for human...

Artwork