Arthur Jafa akingdoncomethas, 2018 Colour and sound video
akingdoncomethas continues Jafa’s ongoing interest in referencing and questioning the universal and specific articulations of black being. The work takes its title from a contemporary Christian expression referring to the world following the rapture. In the video, Jafa draws on visuals from over 100 minutes of found footage of black church services including shots from mega-churches, gospel songwriters and musicians such as Al Green.
“With its long takes of expressive musical performances and mellifluous sermons, akingdoncomethas proposes this kind of channeling, focused on a faith in the possibility of life after catastrophe,” writes MoMA curator Thomas J Lax. Here Jafa employs juxtaposition and sound to create what the artist describes as a black cinema that “replicates the power, beauty and alienation of black Music”. In Lax’s words, this approach allows Jafa’s imagery “to be felt in the body with the same sensuousness as sonic frequency and verbal intonation”.
