me·trop·o·lis: depictions of downtown serves as a love letter to Detroit, Michigan, by capturing the essence of growing up in a culturally and historically vibrant city. In the binds of the artist and the narratives she chooses to tell, conversations of wealth inequality, environmental injustice, and racial stereotyping exist beneath the complexities of nostalgia and the significance of depicting a predominantly black city in the media. Using a mixed-medium approach, the artist hopes to invite others into her interpretive history of Detroit, offering context to a reality skewed by systemic inequities throughout American history.
Ikalanni Jahi is an accomplished artist who excels in crafting vivid memories and reimaginations to explore her own black experience. With a background in figurative art practices, she has had her work displayed and awarded with the Stamps Gallery, Michigan Association of State Universities (MASU), Arts @ Michigan, Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, UM University Unions, and more.
Jahi’s work juxtaposes themes of collective identity with investigations of black iconography, the human form, and flora. Within these concepts, the various life experiences that shape her artistic practices seek to offer critique of societal inequalities and amplify the voices of those historically overlooked.
