Sandswept
The following is a brief excerpt from a premium subscription COLOR & CULTURE report. Further samples and excerpts from the service are available in my portfolio.
LEFT to RIGHT: 2400 year old doll head, Schiaparelli charms & Gaze pendant, JENNIE & Doechii “ExtraL”, personal pieces from Wisdom Kaye’s collection shared on Instragram, JENNIE wearing Schiaparelli belt, Stone block relief showing Thutmose II found at Karnak Temple in Luxor
EXCAVATED MODERNITY
Unmistakably human craft untethered from the expected, SANDSWEPT excavates modernity from the sands of the past.
Inspiration for SANDSWEPT was born in February 2025 with the discovery of an Egyptian pharaoh’s tomb. The tomb was Thutmose II’s, and is the first tomb discovered in over 100 years (since Tutankhamun’s). The discovery also marks the last lost tomb of Egyptian kings of the 18th dynasty.
In the following month of March 2025, 2400 year old dolls were unearthed from a pyramid in El Salvador. The puppets articulate, with facial expressions that change pending the direction they are turned. Their heads pivot from a string that was run through their necks.
Concurrently … from street to runway, and through culture including music and videos … ancient symbols are have growing presence. Sand blows through imagery and editorial, bringing a literal grittiness to modern aesthetics.
Human made goods, eluding the mediocrity of AI’s imagination, are also growing in popularity. With Gen Z’s strong affinity for self expression and freedom in aesthetic choices … expect a growing swell of modern design that looks like it may have been unearthed from the sands of antiquity.
SANDSWEPT
“TO LEAVE THE KNOWN AND TAKE THE FIRST STEPS.
SO LET US NOT RETURN TO WHAT WAS NORMAL,
BUT REACH TOWARD WHAT IS NEXT.” - Amanda Gorman “New Day’s Lyric”
Whether it was the audacious ambitions of Ancient Egypt, or the lunar regolith that man dared to walk upon, human invention and artisanship is central to EMERGING volume ii. In a world where AI is forcefully being implemented, most commonly with mediocre and unimagined results, SANDSWEPT celebrates the human aspects of invention. The messy, gritty, and sublime.
From the ancient sands of Egypt, to American prairies, to the surface of the moon … SANDSWEPT carries through the millennia of human ingenuity and a dare to dream. Particles of sands sweep through our human adventures, inspired by unmistakably human craft and untethered from the expected.
