**Installation view, *Aoko—born away from home,* curated by Klaudia Ofwona Draber at EFA Project Space, New York, 2024. Photo by Argenis Apolinario.**

Aoko—born away from home is a powerful multimedia group show at EFA Project Space until November 16. The exhibition includes visual art, video, and writing from artists about the experience of being mixed race. This show was very personal to me, as I am a mixed-race person, and it touched on themes that people outside of this demographic often overlook. Oftentimes, mixed-race people feel like they are not enough of one thing to identify with any one identity because of the way their peers react to them. Aoko—born away from home touched on this feeling while fighting for our right to claim our heritage. Additionally, I have found community with other mixed-race people regardless of ethnic background, and the exhibition captured this solidarity by representing many different mixed-racial and ethnic identities.

One compelling piece is IDENTITIES by Hidemi Takagi. These life-size photo portraits of mixed-race teenagers fill up the middle space of the exhibition. They are spaced out so the viewer can walk among them and feel like a part of the piece. The scale of the pieces, coupled with recorded interviews of the subjects, allows the viewer to get to know the people in the photos. Finally, Takagi’s focus on teenagers emphasizes the fact that we are headed toward a diverse future.

Alex Mari, One-drop (threading piece), 2016. In-studio performance, 5 hour duration, performance video stills.

Alex Mari’s One Drop (threading piece) video performance was innovative and poignant. During the video performance, the artist mixed one drop of her blood into coconut oil and used it to thread their hair. One Drop is interrogating the “one drop rule” used by the US government to identify race. The piece considers who we allow to define our identities and chooses self-determination.

**Renée Cox, *Yo Mamadonna and Child*, 1994, inkjet pigment print, 72 × 48 inches.**

Aoko—born away from home is unique in that it includes literature as part of the exhibition. Ann Mbuti’s The Stories of our Folk is presented as part of the show’s materials and was commissioned to accompany this exhibition. She writes about how multiracial “whose identity is shaped by plurality and life between cultures,” create their folklore. It is a thoughtful addition to the show and puts into words the ideas expressed by the other artists—Oliwia Bosomtwe’s book Like the White Man. The Story of Poles and the Others is presented on a pedestal in the way a sculpture might be, along with a printout of selections from the book. The book is a collection of short stories of Black people’s experiences in Poland.

**Coralina Rodriguez Meyer, *Madrugada Nacimiento (Corona Santa) triptych*, 2020, chromogenic print on Hahnemuhle, 39.5 x 27.5 inches each. Photo by Argenis Apolinario.**

EFA Project Space is dedicated to showing and supporting diverse and innovative artists, and Aoko—born away from home—is no exception. The exhibition is thought-provoking and challenging but also comforting to those who are represented by it.

Aoko—born away from home

September 19 – November 16, 2024

Artists
Alex Mari, Coralina Rodriguez Meyer, Hidemi Takagi, Keren Benbenisty, Natalia Nakazawa
Oliwia Bosomtwe, and Renée Cox

Curator: Klaudia Ofwona Draber

Bash Ortega

Bash Ortega is a writer and multimedia artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Over their art career, they have made a collection of iconography heavily inspired by street art and scientific illustration. Bash is an established culture reviewer, and you can find their published work at Horror Press and Quip Mag!