X–TRA: The Frenglish Are Coming
April 6, 2023
Emann Odufu
Read hereUmar Rashid reimagines contemporary history—particularly the saga of the fictional Frenglish Empire. Through this fabrication, Rashid becomes the community griot or shaman, a harbinger of realities that were forgotten or erased but might reenter the matrix through the portal of his artistic practice. The title of a multimedia sculpture from 2022, a jumbotron envisioned as a missive from space, attests to that project’s urgency: Sink or Synchronize. The voice from the outer realm of the cosmic overlord that compels you. I spoke with Rashid in a Thai restaurant across the street from MoMA PS1 after visiting Ancien Regime Change 4, 5, and 6, his solo show on view at the museum.
Read more in X–TRA.
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