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Damola Kevwe
Looking up between gold and violet Manhattan skyscrapers into a starry night sky

Psychedelic Afrofuturism

Experiential design · Art Direction

I explored Black history in Manhattan through a psychedelic and Afrofuturist lens, imagining an altered state experience through the city. Based on a collage, I expanded the idea into an immersive visual journey connecting significant sites across Manhattan’s Black history. Featuring a series of manipulated photographs, a map tracing the journey and a video that turns the city’s landmarks into an immersive experience.

The Idea

Two original collages that set the visual language.

Original collage: a psychedelic bubble of city fragments framed by arcs of colour tilesOriginal collage: linked red and gold patterned spirals on black

The City

Manhattan, edited.

The same crosswalk graded in violet and magenta
A Manhattan crosswalk at night, graded in cool blue with a red glow across the tarmac
Blue editViolet edit

Two edits of the same crosswalk. Drag to compare.

A Manhattan avenue recoloured with a pink sky, green cycle lanes and violet shadows
Looking up between gold and violet skyscrapers into a starry night sky

The Map

A fold-out map tracing the Black history landmarks that shaped the journey through Manhattan.

Fold-out map of Manhattan with streets lit in origin colours, a key of African origin colours and twelve Black history sites to visit

The streets are lit in colours with origin stories in Africa, kept wet so the light reflects onto the buildings.

The Journey