Drawing 2022 to an end, 5 Points Art Gallery + Studios hosts its own visual art Comic-Con with the conjoined exhibition openings of "Eden Parq", and "Tlacuilo" [TLAH-KWEE-LOW], on Friday, November 4, 2022 6-9 p.m. (CST).
While Japanese graphic novels, anime and futurism have only recently become popular among black youth, artists, Allison Westbrook IV, Celeste Contreras, Kahlil Kasir, Malvy Westrbook and Manny Vibez, have always had a fascination with this comics, animation, and storytelling, genres deemed contradictory to their race and urban upbringing.
Hailing primarily from the Northside of Milwaukee, artists Manny Vibez, in his solo debut, "Eden Parq", and Celeste Contreras, Kahlil Kasir and brothers, Allison Westbrook IV and Malvy Westbrook in their collaborative exhibit, "Tlacuilo", showcase their love of all things manga, anime and illustration and give visibility, validity and a space for pigmented persons and personas through their practices and within their graphic creations.
Visual and wearable artist Manny Vibez heads up a solo exhibition titled "Eden Parq", named after his 7-year-old son, Eden. With the purpose of documenting his son’s formative years, while also creating a realm of fantasy, "Eden Parq" is a world reminiscent of Never Neverland for Eden, a magical space for exploration, play, whimsy and joy, characteristics that escape humans as we transition into adulthood. Fusing digital art, painting and fashion design, Manny upcycles and hand-dyes denim jackets, hats, shoes and other apparel, and uses the garments to block in handmade patches featuring original anime-style icons and imagery, as his version of comic book storytelling. Through his mixed media compositions, he preserves this special time of innocence that is too often ripped from most black youth’s lives and creates a visual memoir for his son.
Personified through Japanese, European, Native and American influenced graphic stories, “Tlacuilo”, Nahuatl word meaning “painter, writer, bookmaker”, aims to expose BIPOC presence and excellence within the illustration and futurism genres and give visibility, validity and a space for pigmented persons and personas through their practices and within their graphic creations. From providing euphoric and colorful intergalactic images (Malvy Westbrook), to documenting via minimalist graphite illustrations, the ardor and pain of ones disability and its effect on family dynamics (Kahlil Kasir), to visually journaling a personal quest to recover long-lost Indigenous practices, books, and other cultural relics (Celeste Contreras), to giving pigment-rich representation to the excluded black female character in comics (Allison Westbrook IV) each artist charts their own distinctive narratives, journeys and futures, utilizing contoured lines, selective pantones and griot codes within their visual stories, bringing their own personal spins to the traditional formats.
Among the differences in subjects and characters, forms of 2-D storytelling with emphasis on the BIPOC experience is at the heart of "Tlacuilo" and "Eden Parq". Viewers can journey through the illustrious illustrations and mixed media wearable works until Sunday, January 8, 2023. The artist talk will occur at 7 p.m. (CST) opening night in person and via Zoom.
