DreamLand
Welcome to DreamLand, My Nigga
We Built This Just For You
DreamLand is an immersive exhibition series. The exhibition, so far, features a collection of acrylic and oil paintings, three performance art vignettes, a comic book series and a live performance of the comic's soundtrack, a psy-fi rock album written and composed by myself. Both a tale of whimsy and tragedy, Dreamland takes an autobiographical approach to world building. It's meant to envelope black supernatural/marginalized people in an imaginative universe that feels like home and reeks of future triumphs while alienating our oppressors in a state of compunction that forces them to learn how to love. Dreamland is a dive into my own psyche/holistic recovery and an ongoing exploration of relationships between the following: dream analysis +modern psychology. epigenetic traumas and legacies. current (western) precepts on the human soul V.S. traditional afro-indigenous practices, beliefs and truths. My hope is to create a bemusement park experience that disputrs, disarms and disorients any agent of white supremacy operating internally or externally in our lives. Creating more space for humanity and love day to day, moment to moment.
Dreamland is an innovative and widely accessible pathway to healing the chronic and seemingly inescapable neurosis that comes with being a Black American.
My goal date for the first exhibition is late summer/early fall 2025. In the meantime, I am conjuring, creating and applying for funding.
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Who is Ino?
The Spirit Behind the Mask
My name is Ino Adjani Kodjo. Ogbanje man born on American soil, St. Louis, Missouri. I am: neurodivergent/trans masc + queer/chronically ill/black/female. Very taboo to be this way and also to be so proud. I do not have an easy life. I have many battle scars. I’d like to think of each creation as a salve for the unspeakable traumas my body still harbors. In 2016 I earned my Bachelor’s of Psychology, with an emphasis on child development and fine arts. I was enamored with everything from drawing to sculpting to dance. In 2018 I began studying parapsychology, dream analysis and esoteric spirituality for influence and inspiration. During this time I felt really akin to artists such as Francis Bacon, Basquiat, Dali and Beksinski. For the first time my madness was surmountable. In 2019 I was raped after a casual second date. I lost most of my long term memories after about a week of hypomania and sleep walking. Lost in a fugue state, I sought help but was abused upon hospitalization. I returned home a stranger to myself. But my paintings were there and I dreamt more vividly than ever. Recalling my memories and whole self through painting and dream analysis saved my life. These practices still save me everyday.
Talkin' To Myself Episode 1.
I recently had a dream where I got to experience a very warm and playful reunion with my inner child. It inspired my upcoming single "Rainbows". Little Me had the idea to build some of the set for the music video. "Talkin' To Myself" is a miniseries meant to document this process and the more intimate conversations happening in my mind that help(ed) me heal while working on set and writing the song.
Talkin' To Myself
Episode 2: Where Are We Now?
In this episode of Talkin' to Myself , my inner child and I sort of reverse our roles. This time I'm the one who needs guidance. This song, Rainbows has really ripped my heart open. All the mucks come pouring out and I don't know what to do with it. Little Blue reminds me that fear is okay, but we must be brave if we want to create a new beginning for ourselves. This episode Little Blue kind helps me remember to use my imagination and spiritual gifts + rituals to escape those deeper, more suffocating fears. We turn the muck into light. The fear is transmuted and becomes fuel for a hungry heart. I'll be recording Rainbows soon. I can't wait for you all to hear it.
Thanks for watching.
Peace + Love.
Talkin' To Myself
episode three
Last night I dreamt I was running through a field with lots of people. Friends, I presume. Some of us had wings, I can't remember if I had wings. I was angry and yelling at everyone. One of them came near me and hugged me. Embraced we wandered away from everyone and into a parking lot. I cried into their feathers, and itchy blue sweater. "I miss my parents."
In the dream at that moment I could remember the backyard of my uncle's house where all the June babies shared birthday parties. Splintered wood and old peeling white paint. Today is June 28, 2022. We are twenty-nine, we remember the light. We missed it.
- Ino.