Passages: B D-Z, 1979

Drawn, in his words, to “myth, ritual, and the transmission of wisdom and culture across continents and generations,” Conwill took a syncretic and trans-historical approach to his exploration of African diasporic spirituality and culture. The multidisciplinary artist was part of an influential circle of LA–based Black artists in the 1970s that included David Hammons and Senga Nengudi. In 1979, he began casting acrylic polymer and latex into vaguely pictographic scrolls and wrapping these around cylindrical cores to create “time capsules” for his Passages series. He embedded these objects within cabinets resembling earth-covered shadow boxes and added other talismanic elements such as small, rubbery “juju bags” filled with materials he considered to have magical qualities. These shrine-like tableaux suggest a confluence between terrestrial life and an afterlife, ancestors and descendants, and the present moment and notion of eternity.