White handle mug with printed artwork wrapped around the mug.
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Nomma Semi Mug

SKU:
W194317
$20.00 $12.00
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Width:
4.00 (in)
Height:
4.50 (in)
Depth:
5.50 (in)
Current Stock:
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Description

Mikael Owunna Nomma Semi Mug

 

Nommo Semi, Guardian of Space

At the start of creation, the Dogon deity Amma emanates from Themself eight spiritual figures called Nommo, who are the androgynous, immortal, self-fertilizing, bisexual progenitors of humanity. Nommo Semi (The Sacrificed Nommo) is the third of this group, and They are sacrificed by Amma to purify the universe as atonement for the wicked deeds of Their twin Ogo. Planets and stars spool forth from Their blood. They are then resurrected and installed as the Guardian of Space.

Photographic Process

In the photographs of Infinite Essence and Cosmologies, Owunna leverages his training as an engineer to explore the nuances of darkness and light.  He employs ultraviolet strobes, painted fluorescent backdrops, and carefully hand painted nude bodies of Black models that only glow under ultraviolet light.  When he then photographs the models in total darkness, the shutter snaps, and for that fraction of a second, synchronized beams of ultraviolet light illuminate a glowing scene that reanimates tableaus of creation from the archive of African diasporic myth.