Published to accompany the exhibition Alexis Peskine: Fire Figures, Oct 2020 which follows the success of his debut solo show Power Figures at October Gallery in 2017.
Alexis Peskine’s signature works are large-scale mixed media ‘portraits’ of the African diaspora, which are rendered by hammering nails of different gauge, with pin-point accuracy, into wood stained with natural materials such as coffee, mud and hibiscus. By applying gold leaf to the nails, he creates breath-taking composite images. He depicts figures that portray strength and perseverance, with energy reminiscent of the spiritually charged Minkisi ‘power figures’ of the Congo Basin. The nails Peskine uses speak about the Black Experience, transcendence and pain.
The striking new works explore the frustration of the African Diaspora which continues to face systems of violence, racism and displacement. Peskine has ‘always felt the fire of injustice’ throughout his life, a fire which fuels his works. For him, fire also represents an opportunity for change, a change his subjects are striving for but which has yet to come.
This publication features vivid reproductions of the works in the Fire Figures exhibition and a lengthy interview of the artist by the writer Siima Itabaaza.