Omari Douglin

Ramiken extends a warm welcome to the audience of Omari Douglin’s first exhibition with the gallery, Wave Gods 2. Returning to an idea he first explored several years ago in Wave Gods, Douglin creates for us unique figurative sculptures resonating as deities, gods, and spiritual beings. Drawing inspiration from the tradition of piñata making, Douglin fabricated his sculptures in Mexico, from sketches detailing the faces, clothing and accessories, while other decisions were executed by his own hands.

“I got the idea to do a drawing and have one made. I thought what if I made a Black one? One that looked like me? I hadn’t seen that before and I was curious about the possibility of finding myself in a culture that felt foreign, but also really familiar,” says Douglin.

Douglin transforms the Piñata, usually created for a celebration ending in an explosion of candy and sweets, into a sculpture standing tall, becoming something that is sweet, but which cannot be consumed. Like a figurine or ancient vessel, the sculptures stand poised with their arms out, mimicking the Ankh, an African symbol repre- senting eternal life and regarded as the original cross. Some figures stand on shelves, stepping forward, ready to jump or fly, while others are preoccupied in the act of ascension.

Omari Douglin was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1992. He lives and works in Los Angeles.