Realized in richly textured collages, In Homage commemorates Muneer Bahauddeen’s heroes and home by interweaving West African religion and mythology with his African American experience. Inspired by the elongated figures, geometric forms, and zig-zag designs found in African Dogon art, Bahauddeen’s Nommo series celebrates three centuries of cultural icons, including Harriet Tubman, Thelonious Monk, and the Obamas. Referencing community, labor, and legacy, his Black Kitchen Ware series highlights domestic objects from Bahauddeen’s family history set against a background of meticulously drawn tick marks that evoke a sense of passing time. In combining African symbolism, cultural inspiration, and personal narrative, Bahauddeen’s laboriously detailed and multi-layered works connect significant trailblazers and familial memory to the collective spiritual whole.
