These are dark days.
For a society founded expressly on genocide and chattel slavery, it perhaps should not be surprising, even after 500+ years of colonial oppression. But the sheer glee with which fascist violence is being inflicted now, particularly on Black, Indigenous, and brown bodies, gives the lie to anything about white supremacy and colonialism ever being justified in calling itself “civilized.”
This is not new to us, of course. We’ve lived it, not only played out our own daily lives but in ancestral memory, and we know better than most both the stakes and the true nature of reality. It would be easy to sink into the darkness, to give in to it, to roll over and let the racist fascist, colonialist tide roll over us in hopes of still being breathing when the wave recedes.
We can’t do that.
The ancestors knew, and they have handed that knowledge, and the strength that comes with it, down to us. But it is up to us to find the within ourselves the courage to use it, and the wisdom to do it well. We cannot now let our spirits be bound by darkness. We have to find the means to fly as the light: illuminating, protecting, with the all the strength of heart and mind and spirit necessary to bring a better world into being.
It may seem off-putting to couple such words with today’s featured work, but I have two answers to that, and I am firm in their truth. The first is that art is always political, whether the artist wants it to be or not, and in a land saturated with the bloody evils of more than half a millennium of colonial violence, Indigenous art cannot help but be political just by its very existence. The second is that, in the same vein, this space has always been political, and Wings has always stood firm in his belief that he would rather not sell a piece at all than to pacify the forces of white supremacy to do it.
Friday is, of course, the day when we feature work by other artists. We do not speak for them, and no one can reasonably impute our words or beliefs to them. But these are works not here on consignment; they were purchased specifically for the purposes of reselling them, and the artists have long since been paid. And so the fact that they are on offer here is tied now explicitly to our beliefs, and to no one else’s.
Outside the window, the sun is shining, but it’s less brilliant today. The clouds are gathering, of course, holding out the tantalizing prospect of monsoonal rains for the afternoon — a prospect destined to remain unfulfilled, if the forecast is to be believed. but the haze over the land is more than mere clouds veiling the sun. There is pollen in the air, true; there is also likely a bit of smoke haze from wildfires distant and otherwise. But the feel of the world today is heavy, lacking clarity or depth, outlines obscured by perceptible traces of the evil abroad upon the land.
Our bodies cannot rise above it; we must all go through it to come out the other side. While going through it, some of us bear more responsibility than others, a weight that varies by time and place and circumstance. But the only way through is to invite in the properties of illumination and wisdom, to let our spirits soar: to fly as the light.
Today’s featured work is the very embodiment of this proposition, a small bird wrought of the earth itself, inlaid with wings and feathers luminous with beauty and medicine and indeed, the light itself. From its description in the Other Artists: Fetishes gallery here on the site:
Spirit birds fly on wings of light. It’s true of this tiny version, not an eagle but a spirit bird of a more ordinary sort, yet with extraordinary color and texture. Hand-carved by Delvin Leekya (Zuni Pueblo), this wingéd being emerges from Zuni rock, the Pueblo’s nickname for a particular variant of yellow travertine. It’s crafted in “vintage style,” meaning that the likeness flows from basic lines, without a great deal of accent detail. Its eyes are the tiniest of inlaid turquoise cabochons; its tailfeathers inlaid with geometric bands of turquoise, jet, pink-lip mother-of-pearl shell, lapis lazuli, and white-lip mother-of-pearl shell at the ends. Its wings are light itself: pink-lip mother-of-pearl in the front, colorfully whorled abalone at the ends, and a bold bisecting band of black jet. Fetish stands 3-3/4″ long by 1-3/8″ across at the widest point (dimensions approximate).
Zuni rock (yellow travertine); turquoise; abalone shell; pink-lip mother-of-pearl shell;
white-lip mother-of-pearl shell; lapis lazuli; jet
$135 + shipping, handling, and insurance
This particular bird seems watchful, as though, perhaps, fully aware of our presence, judging us by what we do or fail to do.
We are all called now.
Perhaps the image, at least, of this small but powerful spirit can inspire us to rise up and and call upon the light. The world needs it, and us.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2020; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
