Alisa Banks, “History of a People”

Alisa Banks
Dallas, TX
www.alisabanks.com
IG: @abanksart

History of a People
2023
Wood, hair, indigo, scent, paper
8” dia. X 9.5”

Artist Statement

History of a People is an epic that traces the history of African Americans in the US using scent as a charged material. The crown-shaped book consists of six bottles (or chapters) of custom formulated scent that correspond to the cultural landscape of selected periods in African American history: Roots, Journey, Arrival, Harrow, Protest, Visioning. The individual scents mingle to form a singular accord, representing a span of history and the complex layering involved in the creation of a new culture.

Scents are not literal but are interpretations of events and materials prevalent during specific timeframes, including ambergris, which was traded in pre-colonial and colonial Africa, salt and water for the Middle Passage, and smoke and sugar for the period of enslavement. Some aromatics are more abstract, such as the smell of containment in Journey and air in Visioning. The aromatics exist as re-memory – faded, but lingering throughout time.

Materials and techniques used in this work were selected for their historical significance, particularly indigo, cowrie, hair, stitching and hair work. The overall form is based on African architecture and African tribal crowns, with the thought of their continued evolution over time and distance. It is also symbolic of a nkisi (minkisi plural), an object containing spiritually charged substances created for protective purposes in west and central Africa. Minkisi creation continued with the enslaved in the US. The bird finial and symbols burned into the base of the book are Adinkra symbols, a system of icons used to communicate proverbs or history, used widely by the Asanti and other peoples of western Africa. Adinkra continue to be used across the African diaspora. The symbols burned into the base at each scent bottle are relevant to the particular chapter headings. The bird symbol is the Sankofa, meaning “go and get it,” encouraging the viewer to look to the past for future guidance.

History of a People represents my ongoing investigations of ceremony, ritual, and tradition in African American culture and the African diaspora using material culture as a conceptual point of departure in creating original works of art. My particular interest is in women’s contributions to the formation of culture. Materials such as cloth, hair, and plants, and craft techniques are often incorporated to build layers of symbolism within the work. I believe that the concept of book is fluid in that there are many ways to “read,” and “reading” can incorporate all senses.