Folding fan, Iran, circa 1870

Blueberries - Teija Lehto

Finnish, b. 1965 -

vintage stationary

envelope (1843)

Esther Howland lace lithograph Valentine (mid-1800s)

Studies on Twilight Phenomena after Krakatoa by Eduard Pechuël-Loesche (1888)

origami folk art card (1900)

Aya [Brown]’s scenic depictions beam with ghetto nuance and seduction. Her work is intersectional—she takes artifacts from Black and queer culture and fuses them, putting a face to the often unseen. Aya’s art suggests that lowbrow is the latest highbrow response to boring straight white male culture. Her style draws upon figures both living and deceased, from Missy Elliott to Toni Morrison. It’s nasty foreplay and sensual love. It’s Black Lesbian pride. “It is one of my biggest missions in life to document my own history, BLACK LESBIAN history,” she tells office. “This is not a game of telephone. I don’t want a little Black girl to learn about us, from anyone but us.”

Adaora & Adora's first kiss