Real NEGUS Don’t Die: Fire Inside. Graphite and acrylic on paper. 39×26 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
Real NEGUS Don’t Die: Young, Gifted, & Black. Graphite and acrylic on paper. 39×26 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
NEGUS in Paris, For Real (feat. Gwyneth Paltrow). Graphite, gold leaf and oil stick on paper. 25×18 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
Real NEGUS Don’t Die: BADASSSSS. Graphite and acrylic on paper. 39×26 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
A.W.N. (Artists With Negritude). Acrylic on canvas. 70x48in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
NEGUS is as NEGUS does. Acrylic on canvas. 60×52 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
Return to My Native… Acrylic and oil stick on canvas. 60×52 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
Corps perdu, l’âme se retrouve. Acrylic on canvas. 70×58 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
Off Da Chain. Acrylic, gold leaf and oil stick on canvas. 20×16 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
All Dat Glitters Aint Goals. Acrylic, gold leaf and oil stick on canvas. 74×60 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
EYE CONS. Acrylic on canvas. 80×59 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
IRONY. Acrylic and oil stick on canvas. 70×58 in. 2012. Fahamu Pecou
A brand conceived by the Atlanta-based artist, Fahamu Pecou is The Shit! exploits hip-hop vernacular to direct our gaze to the posturing of contemporary black pop culture icons and role models. When he makes a public appearance, his alter ego swaggers in as one of the blinged-out, tatted-up rappers gracing the covers of today’s art and pop culture magazines. In his paintings and drawings, Fahamu Pecou‘s familiar trope of self-portraiture challenges and dissects society’s representation of black masculinity.
This Fresh VUE feature juxtaposes two recent bodies of work. The title of the series All Dat Glitters Ain’t Goals subverts a quote from William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice: “all that glitters is not gold.” In contrast, NEGUS in Paris engages specifically with the idea of Négritude as famously symbolized in the work of African writers Aimé Césaire and Léopold Sédar Senghor.
See the artist’s performative concept in this video:
