Mighty Real by Katasi

Katasi constructs nostalgic tableaus of intimate social moments using digital collage, placing beautiful people having A Good Time in the foreground of architecturally magnificent spaces. Her whimsical works exhibit playfulness and joy on the surface, with an underlying theme of reclaimed ownership of space. This theme is represented through her reimagination of archival imagery, taking people out of their original image context and placing them in spaces that were typically exclusionary at that time.

As a first-generation Ugandan-Filipina American, this series puts an emphasis on Katasi’s constant rediscovery of and connection to her blackness.