Chase Keetly
Berlynn Beam
WE LOST PEOPLE:
DIASPORIC DEPARTURE
Erode. Depart. Palimpsest.
Alter in suspension is the collective existence of Our foundation.
We Lost People is two parts in conversation with each other. The Altar, being the place you rest and find quietude. The Offerings are for those who’ve become Ancestors this past year. Ridgid and suspended, the Altar stands in place of true stability. Informed by the teachings of Yoruba, the use of Adinkra symbols Nkyinkyim and Nkisi Sarabanda activate the foundation, and Mako as the symbol of uneven ground. Hand-built ceramic vessels hold tree resin, and bakhoor used for ritual burning purposes. A physical place where Black people can gather, this installation is a representation of the collective existence of our foundation. Having always existed in a continuous state of migration; see San Francisco Bay Exodus to Victoria 1858, think Tulsa Oklahoma 1921.
Diasporic Departure: Where a culture's historical significance is continually
being eroded, to be rebuilt and redefined. Yet, it is not so literally a palimpsest. It is a necessary departure because there is nothing to build on, and thus having to create anew. Without having the ability to bear roots.
Social media handles:
@blackartsvancouver, Collective’s Page on Instagram
@measured.success, Berlynn Beam on Instagram
@c.y.n.k, Chase Keetley on Instagram
Chase Keetley (he/him) is a multi-disciplinary African-Canadian artist, currently based in Vancouver as a Black settler on the STOLEN land of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwəta? (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
Whose work is based on the Black Experience. He primarily investigates the mimicry and use of Blackness like the appropriation of cultural practises and iconography rooted in Pan-African Ethnography. Through breaking down the identities, desires, and investments of non-Black people and how they live vicariously through Black Culture without actively dismantling the issues that coincide within its existence.
Chase has dedicated a majority of his practice to the research on British Columbia’s Black History, in order to provide sufficient education in the workshops he leads. He aims to create space for Vancouver's Black youth to not only learn about themselves, but where they stand in history apart from the white settler narrative. Continuing his research of Black Settlers along the Pacific NorthWest Coastal Region, he was a part of the emerging artist residency at Centrum during their 2020 intake, located in Washington State. Again, continuing his research at his residency at Griffin Art Projects in North Vancouver during 2021. He recently exhibited the work We Lost people:Diasporic Departure, 2021 at the Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver British Columbia, and is now displaying the work here at the Wa Na Wari Seattle.
Berlynn Beam (they/them) is a Black Illustrator currently based in Oakland, California. On the traditional lands of the Ohlone people.
Whose work talks about Black Narratives, with a focus on Queer Black Femme storytelling. Through illustration, Berlynn is able to convey the complexities and politics at play through inhabiting their body and taking up space. Their work has taken many forms and continues to evolve into physical representations of emotionality. Much of their work talks about the adolescent stages of Blackness and how we come to inhabit our identities. Their narrative style has taken the form of illustration, tapestry, installation, and more recently free form writing combined with land-based learning.
Berlynn has turned to education as a way to expand and inform their practice. They have used BAV as a means to foster community, and activate spaces for Black People in BC through various activities and gatherings. The importance of intergenerational learning has brought to the forefront the need to unlearn, and seek out alternative models of learning. Working alongside local artists Berlynn has begun to cultivate a deepening pool of knowledge to help better understand the role of the artist as an activist and educator.