A Piece of Filial Piety, 2024.
Framed Photographs. Purchase
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Art by Ivana Jarmon
Poem by Theo Sullivan
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Filial Piety
If Africa is supposed to be the /mother land/
I suppose we don’t have much of a relationship
Neglect is a form of abuse.
When I think of the /motherland/
I think of how violent birthing is,
There are some who say children cry because
They are angry to be pulled back to the earth
Tethered by the ankles to a world that doesn’t want them
This must explain the rage that courses through my body
when I am told by her other children that I do not belong to my mother
The name /mother’s land/ clicks in my inner ears as a key in a lock
Just as I’ve never loved another woman the way I love my mother
I won’t ever escape a place with a name as heavy as Africa
To say it once invokes a colonial fantasy of wooden drums and so much sand,
Of heat and dark skin, mashed up with yam and greens—
That gnawingpullingtearing sensation of my ancestors’ yearning lives in my bones
In the present, I attempt to keep hold of the hyphens within me
A drunken facsimile of a mother’s embrace
If your mother refuses to provide you a home, is that neglect?
Because my mother kicked me out of the house when I turned 18,
I learned to find my Blackness in other things
Forget the vibrancy of paired oranges, reds, and greens
My Black skin is much more akin to
The mud on the mangrove trees, gummed between the jaws of alligators
The dust of coffee beans, grown in the only quiet place on my small island
The night sky, where no one can tell me how black is Black enough
Because we all look the same in the dark
A part of me prays to my broken ancestors for the words anyway
Whispered hymns, waves catching on my lips
Sunk deep down into the black sea.
And the anger never leaves
It has carved a place inside of me, right next to my gallbladder
A continent-sized void that is the closest I’ll ever get to a /mother-land/.
Do you ever think about crossing an ocean in order to find out?
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Theo Alexander Sullivan is a facilitator, poet, editor, and educator located in Chicago, IL. His point of view is focused on the Black queer experience, tying in themes of the physical body (intimacy, movement, health issues, etc.), examination of power structures in the United States, mental illness in the Black community, and the modern experience of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Having grown up on the fringes of their own communities, Theo also brings a sense of the alien and otherworldliness to their work, which they attribute to a love of speculative fiction.
Ivana Jarmon | A Chicago-based photographer, is driven by a profound passion for storytelling. Her work delves into themes that authentically capture and reflect the essence of Blackness, exploring the realms of vulnerability and celebrating the inherent beauty of the Black experience.
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1000 Words | Home Not Home Artists + Writers
Noa Alemán + Tamar Brooks • Jacqueline Almaguer + Alanis Castillo Caref • Lexi Alvarado + Isabela Ortega • Danielle Arend + Janina Gatilao • Sofia Brunwin + Spencer Hutchinson • Andrea Cole + Rocio Franco • Lydia Collins + Tarnynon Onumonu • Gregory Diaz + Irvin Ibarra • Danielle Dykerhouse + Betsy Van Die • Jonathan Espinoza + ben-aki • Jaymes Fedor + Maria Requena • Samantha Franco + Angeles Rangel • Ines Gardea + Angelica Davila • Frank Geiser + Penny Mann • Evelyn Hernandez + Valeria Osornio • Stephanie Hererra + Neha Chawla • Ivana Jarmon + Theo Sullivan • Vivian Jones + Luz Silva • Lewis Lain + Thulasi Seshan • Cesar Luna + benedicta m badia • Marie Magnetic + Jasmine Rodriguez • Delisha Mckinney + Paloma Velasco • Diana Noh + Juj-Lepe • Andrew Rehs + Corbett Berger • Clau Rocha + Maria Jose Ramos Villagra • Amyia Ross Brittanii Batts (Tanae b) • Fawaz Sakaw + Arianna Maggio • Lucero Sanchez + Clay-Cofre • Ramin Takloo-Bighash + Yiwen-Lyu • TEEL ONE + Melody Contreras • Pamela Trejo + Kim Yeoh • Cindy Uriostegui + Scum Drop • Ami Vasilopoulos + Stephanie Cruz Rincon • Ivy Waegel + Aryn Hills • Emily Schroeder Willis + Angelica Flores • Raine Yung + Micaela Petkus