CEREMONY OF THE JOURNEY
Ifayomi Christine | Detroit, MI | USA
When I saw the call for Bakanal de Afrique’s ‘Mi soon come,’ it felt like a collective call of healing. The project that I’ve created for this festival is a marriage of film, poetry, and movement. It is a collection of imagery that presents various commuting experiences of Detroiters and connects them to the divinity and sanctity of ritual and prayer. In this piece, entitled “Ceremony of the Journey,” I wanted to showcase Detroiters, on their separate and collective journeys and highlight their experiences in a way that showed reverence and felt holy in nature.
Artistically, I look to show the similarities in spiritual practices and rituals and daily life happenings that can be viewed as mundane. Things like greeting someone on the street as a form of reverence, or drinking water as libations. To me, all acts can be sacred and this makes our existence that much grander. I want the audience who views this project to reflect on and honor their own journeys in the capacity that is meant for them, and in this, find their own interpretations of home
download steps toward honoring self
Production Credits and Technical Details
Written, Directed and Edited by: Ifayomi, DP Desmond Love
Music by: Patches, Starring the Beautiful Black People of Detroit
I have included captions in the video. 1920x1012 mp4, 3:37
about the artist
OTHER WORK FEATURED TODAY
Filmmaker/Multidisciplinary Artist
Detroit | USA
Ashley ‘Ifayomi’ Douglas is a Black Queer multidisciplinary artist, healer, and filmmaker currently based in Detroit, MI. Ifayomi’s work is centered around ritual, memory, self intimacy, and prayer. She finds inspiration in the layered stories and experiences of Black Femmes, African diasporic connections to water, ancestral magic, and finding “home.” Her objective is to synthesize the worlds of ancestral healing, art, and wellness with intention centered on accessibility. Her artistic credits include Allied Media Conference’s Ethics and Aesthetics Film screening, Detroit Narrative Agency’s Radical Remedies Film Series, Art Basel 2019 for N’Namdi Gallery, and Danny Brown’s “Flower Car” with Eightfold Collective Studios and Lisa Waud
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