By Angel Burt – Bentonville, Ark. – The Momentary, part of the Crystal Bridges Museum of America Art in Bentonville, recently held a private tour of the new Awol Erizku: Mystic Parallax exhibition attended by Arkansas Black Vitality. The five-month showcase initially kicked off on May 25 with a concert by R&B artist John Legend.

The exhibition, a tremendous examination of Blackness and contemporary global culture, features photographs, paintings, sculptures, installations, and soundscape interventions by multidisciplinary artist Awol Erizku, who rose to international fame after taking Beyonce’s iconic pregnancy announcement photos.

During the private press tour, Erizu joined Crystal Bridges’ curator of contemporary art, Alejo Benedetti, in guiding attendees through the exhibition. Through Mystic Parallax, Erizku – known for using music, popular culture, and sports symbolism to create works that represent a uniquely Afrocentric aesthetic – offers an alternative to the Western gaze. 

The exhibition features a six-foot mirrored bust of Nefertiti casting a galaxy of shimmering light from the ceiling; an epic 75-foot collage wall displaying a mixture of iconic works, deep cuts, and never-before-seen photos from the artist’s career; and a new installation titled Celestial Bloom, which features a real Cessna 150 airplane, suspended in the air and overflowing with brilliant bursts of flowers streaming out of the cockpit and trailing off the tail of the plane. 

Mystic Parallax is not confined by a specific medium. Instead, Erizku embraces fluidity and improvisation within the exhibition, employing an ever-growing catalog of motifs – layering, combining, and reinventing them. While photographs represent just one facet of the artist’s creative output, they serve as a space where his ideas take shape. Whether adorning his studio walls or re-envisioned in new contexts, these clusters of images offer windows into Erizku’s evolving thoughts.  

“My focus extends beyond mere preoccupation with art history; it’s deeply intertwined with my vision for cultural evolution,” said Erizku. “This line of thinking often leads me back to music. When I began drawing connections and creating imagery inspired by lyrics or subcultures, it stemmed from a place of reverence and deep understanding of their essence. I make a concerted effort to elevate these influences, honoring their significance while pushing boundaries.”  

The “parallax effect” describes the apparent visual discrepancies observed when viewing an object from different vantage points. The exhibition, on view through October 13, extends this concept of differing perspectives to ideas, history, and the multiplicity of global culture. No single narrative dominates this show. However, Erizku provides interconnected webs of artworks that cut across time and cultural boundaries to set viewers up to ask questions, join in dialogue, and search for solutions.   

Awol Erizku: Mystic Parallax is accompanied by the artist’s monograph, co-published by the Momentary and Aperture. The exhibition is curated by Sarah Meister, executive director at Aperture; Alejo Benedetti, curator of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary; and Elise Raborg, curatorial associate of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary. 

Encompassing photography, film, painting, sculpture, and installation, Awol Erizku’s work references and reimagines African American and African visual culture, from hip-hop vernacular to iconic symbols from across history, including the Pan-African flag and the image of Nefertiti. Erizku’s vision is expansive, drawing on traditions of spirituality, Surrealism, and Conceptualism to create uniquely powerful art.

Mystic Parallax is the first major monograph (co-published by the Momentary and Aperture) and exhibition by this rising interdisciplinary artist. It blends his studio practice with work made as an in-demand editorial photographer. It features his conceptual portraits of leading Black cultural figures, such as Amanda Gorman, Michael B. Jordan, Pharrell Williams, and Solange. 

“It’s important for me to create confident, powerful, downright regal images of Black people,” said Erizu.

Mystic Parallax is on view at the Momentary from May 25 through Oct. 13. It is free and open to the public.  Located in downtown Bentonville and satellite to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Momentary is a decommissioned cheese factory turned contemporary art space for visual and performing arts, culinary experiences, festivals, artists-in-residence, and other events.

Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron, philanthropist, and billionaire Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to the present day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions. The museum is nestled on 120 acres of Ozark landscape and was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. 

Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 10.8 million visitors across its spaces, with no cost for admission.