"Liminality and Selfhood: Toward being enough"
“WHAT IS TENDER, undeniable, fluid, like winter, memory, or hunger: this practice of pairing with an/other and oscillating between states of (dis) identification yields a liminal identity, a subjectivity that is material and corporeal but which also transcends the limits imposed by corporeality, visual culture, and colonization—a selfhood that challenges the normative constructions of ‘self.’ This liminal subjectivity is not exactly an achieved state; instead, it is a series of uncovering—like the ever outward concentric circles made by a pebble’s break of pond surface, circles that also progress ever inward. What is uncovered is not a new identity but, instead, a self that was always there: the girlfriend subject in her full humanity had always been a multiplied subject of remarkable depth, and her practice of coupling with an/others is subjectivity as revelation. These revelations mark an/other part of the ‘waiting’ self, the self that was and is always there, a self that was, is, and (un)becomes.

+Kevin Everod Quashie,
Black Women, Identity, and Cultural Theory: (Un)Becoming the Subject
”
Tania Laurethoughts

Last month, I attended the artist talk for Nakeya Brown's exhibition "In Private Moments," sponsored by Top Rank Magazine at FiveMyles gallery in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. She was in conversation with the dynamic Kimberly Drew of Black Contemporary Art.

I sat for Nakeya's photo project, The Refutation of 'Good' Hair in 2012 and its growing success has been amazing to watch! 

Back in November 2014, I also interviewed Nakeya on TROGH and the progress of her more recent series. Read it here.

Stay tuned for more of Nakeya's growing body of work at nakeyab.com and follow her on tumblr.

features, inspoTania Laureartists
The Sibyls: Demystifying the Absence of the African Ancestress: The First Prophetess of Mami (Wata)
“The idea that African religious traditions, ritual practices, social customs, divine prophecy and fundamental beliefs once dominated both the secular and non-secular world in ancient times, seems hard to imagine. Even more, the notion that African women, the oldest human beings on the planet, laid the theological foundation for Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam under the auspices of the black matriarchs seems even more incredible. ”
— Mama Zogbé
Tania Laurethoughts
sibyl #2, acrylic, sequins, faceted jewels, and synthetic flowers on wood, 2015

sibyl #2, acrylic, sequins, faceted jewels, and synthetic flowers on wood, 2015

this piece infiltrated my blood. i worked through so much of myself here. my heart is here. she is the overflow. #ablkflower. 

works in progress, the sibylsTania Laure

WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST FELL IN LOVE WITH SADE? 

i was in the 8th grade. this Goddess got. me. through.  high school and beyond, i was at home in her voice. 

saudade + Sade.  #amen. 

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Tania Laurethoughts
Love Is King - Soulection

Whether you've been around since day one or you're just tuning in, we appreciate you.  This week marks the support of 200,000 listeners on Soundcloud. Thank you. It's a very special milestone for us and our worldwide community.  We look forward to continuing on our journey with you as we collectively push honest music, encourage each other to stay creative and really just inspire others to do what they love.  The 'Love Is King' compilation is a tribute to one of our favorite artists, Sade. The British, Nigerian singer, songwriter and composer has always had a timeless, nostalgic and chilled out sound. We've all grown up with her in the background as many of our parents raised us on Sade. Her style/songwriting just makes you feel at ease, comfortable and is familiar. Art by Sara Golish www.saragolish.com Curated by @AndrePower Compiled & Executive Produced by @JoeKay Words by Jacqueline Mari

soundsTania Lauremood