The Cavern in Jordhan

As he said this, his face became blanketed with sincerity. He moved into the next topic with a measure of caution. It was to be a doozy.

“I’m talkin bout, how we gon move our shit forward but not dangerously so..how we gon get a system that works for…for most, cuz it ain’t gon work for everyone…

...and lastly, but most importantly, I’m talkin bout how we gon not perish by being mountain heads and being so bigeyed indifferent, caught up in our own land and time that it, the land and time, dissipates with little care and concern and we get swallowed wit-out knowing we going down until its too late...

That’s whut I’m talking bout, cuz dats what I know for fact…



-Excerpt from RounHeah' A Novel Comic, Chapter 6 Meeting Brief, © Copyright 2011

(In light of the unfortunate happenings in Syria and those of Syrian peoples and the flight of some to Jordan, I mean no disrespect. This excerpt taken from my novel was written the year prior.) 

Young ones..youngins..jits..they all step up and out

Lions, being the only social cats must endure the fate that all living things do, as it is due. Here, a young one, or sub adult, after what my people would refer to as "smelling yourself", after identifying with his own evolution, the jit belts out a cognizant roar. The elders look on with approval bearing in mind that it also serves as a threat to their own sovereignty. The other "bra-cats", the cubs, ogle the gesture, ingesting the lesson. The guttural sermon is one that they too shall have to deliver some day.

Jit Demarcation: The Proclamation of Readiness..possible pitfalls and progression hereafter..

2012

Acrylic, Oil, Dri-Fast Stain, Marker, on Masonite

35.75 x 9.75 in

This was more likely the precursor to WanSiHa's pushout...something that he ponders on his walkabout.

Tribe of Zenisan

While the story of Zenisan picks up at a much, much later time in the novel, some details of his pride's preceeding difficulties can be found in the current news.

More of Zenisan's profile here

Pee Politics and Olfactory Communication

...sometimes when watching my cat Kinjal go about her usual feline antics, I go on a lil' reverie, speculating on her actions and what seems to be a most sincere purpose in acting them out. It appears ceremonial. The kneading, the scratching, and the throwing of her lil' butt upon the chair that I'm sitting, or better yet - me.
This type of fantasy was a further contributing factor to the RounHeah' story. That is, the contrasts of human and animal, or more specifically leo panthera, activity was further reflected here in my mind as well.

Scent marking...territorial claim...graffiti...and tagging all came to mind. Better yet, the acts that were most familiar to me by way of PBS's Nature series, or house pets and friends, as a conglomerate they all held that common thread.

Demarcation.

Webster, Oxford, Britannica, and the like all define demarcation and graffiti separately, and rightfully so, but wholly it is: to mark...the act of establishing limits or boundaries...communication...


 And so, in the sense of my story, these verbs, nouns, and transitive verbs all serve the more natural, intrinsic purpose - a case of staking one's own individualism, its also power seeking and proprietorial behavior. Without going into specifics, I'm more so inferring that such territorial acts are obviously radical and political.

How crude is pissing on a wall, or scrawling your name or some declarative statement on property without permission. On the other hand, just how just is it. And yet in still, how so very proper it is? In short, the division of land, who and how someone is deemed the "rightful property holder" of said land, further onto the possession and repossession of it...these were thoughts of consideration in constructing a story about the contrasts and complications that seemed comparable between the human and animal kingdom.

"..I claim this as mine..yeah, this heah, this is my space..my land!"

(Complete essay, Pee Politics and Olfactory Communication: Demarcation and The Male Ego, can be found on Kline Opine's blog as of August, 2012.)

The Beginning

First and foremost I like to draw, always have. As far back as I can remember its pretty much how I reacted to life around me. (Reader eye rolls.) When I think back to some of my earliest memories of drawing they were of males and the "box" haircut of the time.

I find it rather interesting if I juxtapose this with my art intentions and practice today. While it could be a bit of a stretch to say that I was "documenting", its not so dramatic to say that I was aware of my environment and drawing was a response to this stimuli. They were unforced, void of ambition and for the most part, genuinely innocent. They remained this way for some time, and peaked, or so I thought. So, I tried graphic design, which worked and didn't at the same time, and eventually went on to painting. "Its a natural progression," I thought. This was a success for the most part as all my art today begins with a quick illustration. Although, there were times when I felt I should return to what was a more relaxed practice. And so, the story of RounHeah is exactly this re/pro-gression.

I've always been infatuated with lions and have the same sense of awe with my own culture. Its also possible that I am just as bewildered by politics, relatively speaking. Furthermore, it is my belief that any visual association(s) with each of these entities is constantly re-enforced by their actions, which are referenced against perceived motivating factors for them. Whether they're right or wrong. (A painting I completed recently makes reference to such misconceptions. You can view it here.)

As mentioned, I've consistently tried to play with these ideas within my work. Those that I've come to think exist as a shared collective of visual associations related to cultural sociology and ideas of power. So, it could be called poetic, but really-its the most concise of terms, that upon hearing a song, a rap song, that I thought of the exploring these ideas, using the pride structure of lions as the foundation. By drawing anthropomorphic lions that appear somewhat as African-American (with rap culture signifier's) and juxtaposing the pride structure with that of politics because of the male majority and its power complexities, I felt that I could scrutinize it all further. *A note about hair, power and black culture: its common knowledge that hair has held a significant share of identity related issues in black culture. Though, I won't go into detail here, I took proper note of this as I integrated the Rastafarian statement made with hair into account and construct of the story and characters.

The above images should not to be taken into a specific hierarchical account in regards the creation and story of RounHeah'. They only serve to reference, loosely, the collection of the parts.