Punk Futurism

It’s black, it’s punk, it’s futurism. It’s hard, it’s metal cowboys and sunglasses at night. It’s a fast paced rollercoaster ride of emotions that will have you jumping up to your feet to join the mosh. It’s not rock n roll it’s ride or die.

Punk Futurism felt like the right name for an are.na channel dedicated to the Black reflections of Punk rippling though culture. This wasn’t a history project but some of the images I found pre-dated Punk. I wanted to indicate that we we’re punk before punk that that tribal hairstyles of ancient Africa were present in the punk movement known of today and that this signaled a sort of futurism of the past that impacted the culture of punk we know today. The impact of blackness on punk is not limited here to style but also includes the unity of a group such as the biker gang, the mosh pit, or the metal cowboys of Johannesburg who party to metal music in large groups all dressed in black and leather. It’s this community aspect that makes it more than about the music but about the shared experience and support felt while being punk.

The Punk subculture of the 1970’s is identified by their both anti-government and anti-corporation ideologies. There was a huge focus on being non-conforming and D-I-Y in order to add spikes and leather and grommets to clothing that you wouldn’t ordinarily find in stores. It was inventive but it was also identified mostly with white people behaving badly. But there was definitely a tribal aspect to it and it quaked amongst the youth; a phenomenon especially amongst the Americans and Europeans.

But to look back at the hair styles and dress and moshing and say that they weren’t influenced by African, Black and Native American cultures would be missing the point. They weren’t just anti-establishment they were reflecting images that weren’t based in whiteness, that wasn’t based in upholding a certain purity or upper-classedness. It was intense, bold, lively, the dances were strong, the music was loud in a way that was in direct opposition to the constraints of whiteness.

So when I was gathering images of blackness for this project, I looked for these themes, things that were assertive and energetic, dark and robust in style. The Images that emerged in this project since 2020 have been an inspiring reminder that that there’s a little anarchist inside me who is touched by these images.

So, regardless of your race I hope these images inspire the anti-authoritarian inside you. I think that energy is needed today in a world where our compliance has become expected amongst the powerful.