The Poetics of Dimensions: Materiality and Visual Language

In conversation with Larry Ossei-Mensah, Curator and Co-Founder of ARTNOIR, invited visual artists Anthony Akinbola, Melissa Joseph, and Julianknxx to discuss and reflect on how they came to use unique and non-traditional materials as a vehicle to tell personal and collective histories.

Aiming to find an accessible avenue into conceptual art, Anthony Akinbola looked to familiar and everyday materials, transforming items such as durags into his tool for painting. He says, "We're all in a relationship with the world and objects that we come into play with, and to be able to reimagine the potential of what those things could be or mean felt like a worthwhile task."

Despite undergoing a traditional art education, artist Melissa Joseph didn’t connect with this process and instead looked to materials from her childhood. “People touch textiles; we wear them on our bodies,” she says, with felt now one of her primary mediums.

“I use poetry as a way to make sense of the world.” Focusing on video art, artist Julianknxx reflects on how he takes inspiration from the similarities between artists and other creatives and thinkers “We sort of look into the chaos of things and find language for it.”

The talk was held at Art Basel Miami Beach and was a programmatic extension of the exhibition “The Poetics of Dimensions” held in the UBS Art Studio at the fair. Co-presented by UBS and ARTNOIR, and curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah with assistance from Kiara Crustina Ventura, the presentation showcased recent artworks by Nari Ward, Sonia Gomes, Anthony Akinbola, Melissa Joseph, and Julianknxx.