“...in many cases during chattel slavery Black Bodies became lost amidst the Middle Passage. The Zong Massacre of 1781, for example, was such an event that concluded with the deaths of hundreds of Africans after they were thrown from the slave ship Zong in order to save it’s white crew after they became lost at sea. These Africans, and countless others in similar occurrences, found themselves adrift in an ocean that was tainted by colonization and slavery, thus becoming inherently anti-black.
Due to the nature of oceanic flow in the North Atlantic Ocean these Black Bodies, in all of their parts, eventually drifted northwards where they froze. Because ice is lighter than water, their bodies rose from the ocean depths to resurface in the Arctic Region, where they stayed for many years.
It wasn’t until Matthew Henson’s first expedition to the Arctic in 1890 that these bodies were rediscovered, and thus served the foundation of the region we now call the Black Arctic.”
-Darius P. Jenkins
Ourstory; The History of the Black Arctic.

~

The Black Arctic is part art research, part afrofuturist dream.
Developed by Alexander Cromer (US), the project seeks to explore the impossible possibilities that exist within the intersection of the Arctic, the Middle Passage, and Black being. Alexander maps this region through his story telling practice which includes performance, music production, and poetry/prose with the help of his alter ego Darius P. Jenkins, the emissary of the Black Arctic.

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This is a map of the Black Arctic.
Navigate by scrolling, or click 'view by title' to get an overview.

This is a map of the Black Arctic.
Navigate by dragging, or click 'view by title' to get an overview.

Rosie
The Death of Darius P. Jenkins (and his life thereafter)
The Heart of Man
Dem Lost Ones
Number55
Ice Don't Drown
Sirens!
Fingertips
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