EYED-ENTITY (2019) by Cypris Afakasi

EYED-ENTITY by South Auckland-based artist and performer, Cypris Afakasi, was produced for the Vunilagi Vou exhibition project, Finding Emory: A Poster Show (2019). This poster is one of a series of seven original works inspired by the iconic aesthetic of Emory Douglas, former Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party. From the controversial trial of armed Police response units in South Auckland to the ongoing indoctrination of imposed body / faith politics, the seven artworks spoke directly to shifts and changes that affected the lives of indigenous people in the South Pacific / Moana Oceania in 2019.

EYED-ENTITY (2019)

EYE-ENTITY combs through the feelings of body dysmorphia experienced after colonial bleaching. This includes being disenfranchised from your own cultures, binary life expectations that become imposed on you through family, how government institutions such as school and work subtly teach and indoctrinate you to hate yourself if you’re anything but a chess piece in their game.

EYED-ENTITY, for me, looks at reclaiming the power and self-love that pulsates at the precipice of actively rejecting these colonial states of mind. The goddess of death and night brings a comforting end to what was supposed to be a sweet score for our people, and in the process, I hope in my heart she can see herself again. Also, I’d love to see Hine-nui-te-po dip on the Beehive and decimate it with the obsidian teeth in her vagina…

Cypris Afakasi