WILLIAM VILLALONGO, The Mothership Connection (diptych), 2020

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Acrylic, glitter spray paint on yupo, cut velour paper, pigment print collage, watercolor paper

39 1/2 x 160 in. Overall, 2 Sheets
40 1/2 x 162 x 2 1/4 in. Overall, 2 Frames

This large-scale diptych takes its title from the 1975 Parliament album of the same name. The record is one of the first to explore George Clinton's P-Funk mythology, in which he envisions a celestial, Space Age-inspired realm of resiliency and enlightenment for African Americans. In the title track of the album, Clinton introduces himself as the Mothership Connection, bringing forth an environment of funk and dance. Parliament's Mothership Connection has since become a cornerstone of Afrofuturism, an aesthetic and philosophy that marks the intersection of the African diaspora with technology. Villalongo's Mothership Connection presents two images: at left, the silhouette of a slave ship; at right, a disembodied figure both emerging from and diving into the darkness. The celestial and earthly are bound together through the imagery of historical violence and its repercussions in the present. Referencing scholar Christina Sharpe's In the Wake, the slave vessel recalls the tragic history of the Middle Passage for enslaved Africans and its mark— or the "wake" of these voyages— on the contemporary African diaspora. In particular, Villalongo highlights not just the systemic racism and trauma resulting from slavery but how this experience informs African American cultural traditions, remembrance, and ancestry. The artist has noted that, “in nature the most beautiful things are often born of violent beginnings.” While these works reference the pain and suffering of the past, they are also a celebration of African American culture and resiliency.

Collection of the Grinnell College Museum of Art

Exhibitions

"William Villalongo: Myths and Migrations," Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell, IA, 26 January 2024 - 6 April 2024; traveled to the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI, 4 May 2024 - 18 August 2024; Museum of Art, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 13 September - 21 December 2024; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 15 May 2025 - 31 August 2025.

WILLIAM VILLALONGO: STICKS AND STONES

WILLIAM VILLALONGO: STICKS AND STONES

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WILLIAM VILLALONGO

Exhibitions

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WILLIAM VILLALONGO