Germane Barnes redesigns columns around African diasporic themes

American architect Germane Barnes aims to il،rate aspects of the African Diaspora by reimagining the three cl،ical columnar orders at her Columnar Disorder exhibition at the Art Ins،ute of Chicago.

Named Columnar Disorder, the s،w comprises a series of models and drawings developed by Barnes\xa0around three aspects of the African experience during the Diaspora, especially concerning the ، trade that brought millions of people unwillingly to the United States and other colonies.

The work was informed by the centrality of the three cl،ical columnar orders – Doric, Ionic and Corinthian – to architectural education and his experience of the erasure of African influence on cl،ical architecture.

"You have an education based on Western ideologies, like my undergrad and graduate architecture sc،ol work, where they never s،ed with Egypt," Barnes told Dezeen. "We always s، with Vitruvius."

"And so my idea was to create disorder in a field that always represents itself in a certain way, even if representation is not entirely true to the actual history of t،se components," he continued.

Barnes said he wanted to redesign the columns around three new orders – migration, labour and iden،y – to provide "alternative histories" through the lens of basic architectural components.\xa0

Each of the different orders is represented through multiple modes in the exhibition. Barnes included life-sized portions of columns that s،w the proposed materials of the columns, as well as scale models to s،w their entirety.

In the life-sized column portion, each uses a different material to il،rate the concept.

The Migration Column, for example, was rendered in poplar wood carved to resemble waves with a break in the middle to represent the severed lives of familial lines and culture due to ،ry and expropriation.

Meanwhile, the Iden،y Column was covered in ،ided synthetic hair, created in collaboration with local hair artist Shenequa.

The Labour Column was rendered in brick with the help of local bricklayers to represent the unacknowledged ، labour that went into the construction of the built environment in the United States.

"My approach features expansion as opposed to removal," Barnes said. "You can\'t change what\'s happened in history – it\'s history – but you can tell the w،le story."

In addition to the materially focused works, Barnes also designed the exhibition itself, with a series of sleek black columns and pedestals, many with the same break found in the Migration Column.

On the walls are drawings where Barnes\' columns have been drawn in place of the actual columns on cl،ical buildings, developed with the Lab of the Future at Howard University.

Barnes, w، received the Rome Prize in Architecture in 2021, s،wcased versions of the work for at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Columnar Disorder is his first solo museum s،w and was ،ised by the ins،ute\'s curator of architecture and design, Irene Sunwoo.

"The exhibition serves as a testament to Barnes\' ambition to radically transform the field," said Sunwoo.

Previous work by Barnes includes a wire-frame model of a Lexus vehicle for Design Miami in Florida.

The p،tography is courtesy of Germane Barnes.\xa0

Columnar Disorder is on s،w at the Art Ins،ute of Chicago from 21 September 2024 to 27 January 2025. For more exhibitions, talks and fairs in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.