The 5 Interview: Fahamu Pecou
Fahamu Pecou is a visual artist and scholar whose works combine observations on hip-hop, fine art and popular culture. Pecou’s paintings, performance art, and academic work addresses concerns around contemporary representations of Black masculinity and how these images impact both the reading and performance of Black masculinity.Currently a Ph.D. student in Emory University's Institute of Liberal Arts (ILA), Pecou maintains an active exhibition schedule as well as public lectures and speaking engagements at colleges and museums nationwide. His work is featured in noted private and public national and international collections including; Smithsonian National Museum of African American Art and Culture, Societe Generale (Paris), Nasher Museum at Duke University, The High Museum of Art, Paul R. Jones Collection, Clark Atlanta University Art Collection and Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia.
Describe yourself in three words: Artist, Scholar, HUE-Man
What's your favorite food: Pineapple upside-down cake
What's your favorite food associated memory: My mom, who transitioned when I was 4, was famous for her pineapple upside-down cake… Despite my affinity for pineapple upside-down cake, I only learned this as a young adult. Discovering this little anecdote about my mom makes me feel even more connected to her.
What mark do you want to make on society: I want to be able to use my art to make a difference in the world. Specifically, I’m interested in changing the perception of Black masculinity. To empower young Black males to envision themselves a whole and human, rather than broken and flawed.
Selfies or nah: Oh yeah… but I only take Self-Important Selfies…
"Self-portrait within a profoundly apperceptive actuality, aggrandizing an augmented ambition antithetical to acknowledged articulations of audacity" (aka staring deeply) 2015 #selfimportantselfies #fahamupecou #fahamupecouistheshit #worldwideheknownforthat
