Muzae Sesay
Breeze Blocks, 2020

oil pastel on canvas
27”H x 66”W

ARTIST BIO:

Muzae Sesay’s work explores environments and spaces, touching upon themes of community, urbanization, and home. For his series in Personal Alchemy, Sesay focuses on the breeze block, a type of concrete block that allows for both airflow and decoration, as a meditation on the mundane. Breeze blocks were popular in mid-century modern California architecture, particularly in Southern California where the artist grew up. In Sesay’s words, “Either way, the story is less about the breeze block itself and more so the idea of what it means to allow oneself the space and time to investigate the mundane. To connect the physical objects all around us to the larger picture of human experience. … Attempting to empathize with breeze blocks ushers in a sense of peace and stillness of the mind. The repetition of a single motif acting as mantras, building upon themselves on the canvas. This also represents a type of freedom I frequently address in my work: a freedom to fixate, navigate, and discover outside any perceived confines or limitations. Within the context of Blackness, this is the type of cognition society has denied us and I am keen on reclaiming.”