Khaleelah I. L. Harris (b. 96) am a multi-disciplinary vernacular artist whose practice, an exploration of hoodoo aesthetics, is grounded in experimentation, ritual, and sustainability. Her Hoodoo Methodology translates key principals the ethnoreligious tradition of Hoodoo; 1) Archival Ancestral Veneration, (2) Vernacularism, (3) Ritual, and (4) Herbalism/Root Magic.

 

Alternative photography processes, white silhouette cut outs of archival images, and the mixed media collage practice come together in my exploration of the spiritual netherworld of African American Women through folklore that pulls on the established literary tradition. The Women Could Fly, a body of work that layers white silhouette cut outs of archival images, deep blue hues of the cyanotype printmaking process, oil pastel, Austrian crystals, plants, and natural fibers. Layering photograms, film negatives, and white cut outs of archival subjects, she creates a reality through which she makes interventions within Afrofuturist theory from a metaphysical and ontological perspective. In doing so, Harris present arguments about the nature and character of black existence across time. 

 

In the current phase of The Women Could Fly, Harris aim to craft liturgical forms and prayers made specifically for the contemplative practice of vernacular artmaking. These forms and prayers draw upon her research of (1) reflections on Hoodoo Aesthetics by African American art practitioners from The Great Migration to The Black Arts Movement, (2) African American liturgies, and (3) African American folktales. Her latest body of artwork engages sustainably sourced found objects, natural fibers, plants and foliage, alternative photography processes, and the process of collage. These images will ultimately be Visio Divina art that accompanies the liturgical forms and prayers she crafts.

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