Afiwa Afandalo

Bio

Afiwa Afandalo is a research-based visual storyteller and educator from The Bronx and Togo. Fascinated with being African, Black, a woman, and so much more; and by the complex shapes these identities take in various contexts, her work encapsulates Black girls' experiences from girlhood to adulthood. She wants her subjects to feel joy, love, anger, experience grief, and be inspired to live out loud when they interact with her body of work. She holds a B.A. in Africana Studies and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies with minors in Studio Art and English from Lehigh University. Her work has been shown in the Tulsa Review, Furrow Magazine, the Lehigh University Art Galleries, Manifold Virtual Gallery, and many more.

Artist Statement

“For Black women and femmes to exist in the future, they have to live and flourish in the present.” - Cheyenne M. Davis

My artistry is an archive of Black girls' and Black women’s stories from Africa and the African diaspora. At the core of this archive is my love for every single one of them (regardless of how they show up); each artwork is a love confession. I use paintings and drawings to preserve the sacredness of their everyday life and discuss the importance of their daily rituals.

Inspired by the concept of Afrofuturism—a world that centers Black people’s past, present, and future— my artistry envisions and demands a world that centers the heritage, ancestry, culture, creativity, knowledge, labor, community, and future of Black girls and Black women. Being academically trained in Black, Indigenous, and African feminist thoughts, and living in the US as a Togolese with ancestry rooted in the Fon and Ewe nations of West Africa, one of my most persistent questions is: “What does it look and feel like for me to live in a world where I (me, those before me, and those after me) am not rendered invisible?” This question and my scholarly background inform my art.

When creating, every aspect of my pieces is intentional—some happy accidents do occur. I use avɔ [African textile prints] in my pieces to invoke the presence of joy and home. Growing up in Togo, we wore avɔ during moments of joy and celebration. I incorporate the color purple and purple glitter to depict the beauty, grandeur, and sacredness that I want Black girls and Black women to see and embody. I love deep purple, and it is often associated with royalty, creativity, and wisdom.

Some of my contemporary mentor artists include Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Qualesha Woods, Bisa Butler, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Their portrayal of Black personhood has evoked in me a desire to be seen, be in community, and create works that bring forth these emotions for others.

To refine my artistic practice, I'm planning to train in sculpture so I can bring the worlds I envision in my 2D pieces into the one we are living in.

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