Reception Room
Banana leaf on wood, 2023
Kenniese S. Franklin
Reception Room tells the story of a circle of deities and ancestors who invite their descendants to a ceremonial gathering. The event marks the coronation of descendants as future foremothers and forefathers. portal-opening moments in time when the veil between seen and unseen dissolves.
Ceremony begins with descendants placing their offerings, symbolized by banana leaf confetti, around the center stage. Descendants then take their places in the outer rings, made from elongated leaf coils acting as auditorium seats. From the stands, descendants witness the ancestors orate on the raised platform in the center. The platform itself is built of petiole pieces that resemble tiny open books, wrapped in banana fabric for preservation and privacy.
Reception Room is an ancestral library where stories unceasingly circle about.
Later in the ceremony, ancestors and descendants switch places. Descendants take the stage while ancestors witness the continuation of their own story lines from the stands. As the switch occurs, attendees begin recognizing deities masquerading as descendants and descendants as deities, further dissolving the illusion of separation.
Reception Room was completed over the course of 10 days, leading up to the 2-23-2023 portal. This is the day I turned 30.
My ancestors bestowed the vision upon me in a dream and walked me through the execution in waking life. Their encouragement supported me in teaching myself the leaf coiling technique, which I had never before witnessed or attempted. Working from dawn to dusk to dawn again, I traversed the deep night and unraveled time.
I stepped into a portal to complete the piece and emerged having built (and unlocked) a portal of my own.
Bringing Reception Room to life was both invitation and initiation. Between the elaborate design, a hard deadline and months of accrued sleep deprivation, the work swallowed me. At some point during the 10 days, I transcended exhaustion and entered an altered state of being. Part of me fell into a stupor. Another part awakened - alert, aware, and unphased by fatigue. Her steadiness carried me when my stamina collapsed.
An alternate name for “Reception Room” is “When the Veil Dissolves.”
On view at Peters Street Station 2/24/23-4/12/23.
Available. Email hello@spatialtherapy.co to inquire.
