Loni Johnson wants us to feel seen
Photo by Monica McGivern
“I want people to have a sense of curiosity to connect with their ancestors and to feel seen. I don’t care if you are brown, black, purple, or blue. I want you to be able to ask, ‘What did my grandmother wear? How did she feel seen?’”
Loni Johnson wants to create a body of work that will never be forgotten. She wants what she makes to serve as a sort of relic, where years from now, people will unearth and discover what the essence of a black girl once was. Firmly planted in the past-present-future as a continuum, Loni challenges us to think more broadly and vastly about time, helping us expand our understanding of human experience and cultural preservation.
In a Q&A led by cultural producer Claudia Des Rosiers, Loni talks about intentionality, making space, and the role of 'drip' in ancestral and historical memory.
Claudia Des Rosiers: When I think of your work, the words “radical acts” come to mind? How would you describe your practice?
Loni Johnson: I am very intentional about creating spaces for Black women, girls, and people. It is something I think about a lot—including the act of interjecting myself into predominantly white institutions.
I’ve heard you mention several times how you "move into spaces." Could you elaborate on that and explain why it's so significant to you, particularly as it pertains to your body of work and performances?
We have to walk as if we are aware that our ancestors, who were here before us, are with us now. When I am approaching my practice, I keep in mind the importance of acknowledging those who came before me. If my work can continue to activate that awareness and lean into it, then I am fulfilling my purpose.
I also come from a long line of badass women who, despite all their traumas and everything they’ve gone through, always found a way to take space and take as much as they could. Even as a kid watching them, I didn’t necessarily understand it, but something within me was sparked by the possibilities of doing the same. I didn’t really own that until my adult life, but I just know I pay honor to them by having the courage to do so now.
It's important for me to create work that allows my audience to tap into that energy, and I hope that it ignites something within them to do the same.
I feel like you embody your art, always adorned with your rings, jewelry, nails, and sense of style. What is the role of adornment in your personal and professional practice?
Adornment, ouf! It gives me a sense of self. An extension of my work is to embody the work. Again, watching the women in my life adorn themselves in so many ways, and seeing how it is such a staple for black women to just shine… The more bangles, the more 'shingalings,' the more extravagant the hairdo—it gives us a sense of self that nobody can take from us. In so many ways, Black women are the blueprint of the culture. Again, the work is driving that home and it brings me joy when I see folks that look like me respond to the work and say, 'Oh, she gets it and I feel seen’.
For me, personally, I spent a lot of time as a Black girl trying to shrink myself and it got to a point where I decided it had to stop. Through the work, I want us to be seen, to be loud, *insert shagaling sound.* I want the work to have that kind of feeling because we are told to tone down our shininess and shrink, and I want my viewers to feel like they should never have to.
Quoting Mama Koko from In Our Mother’s Garden, “accessories are a necessity... It’s armor; it protects us.” I believe that. When I leave the house and I don’t have my jewelry, I feel incomplete: It’s our protection—it holds more power than just aesthetics; it’s a spiritual adornment for us.
How do you want people to feel when they see or encounter your work?
I want people to have a sense of curiosity to connect with their ancestors and again to feel seen. I don't care if you are brown, black, purple, or blue. I want you to be able to ask, 'What did my grandmother wear? How did she feel seen?'
Also, I want them to consider those who came before them and understand how that influences how they currently move. This world is crazy and I feel like we need to tap into our collective thought—that we are not alone. I believe it would help take some load off. It gives us a sense of hope and possibilities.
Why participate in Commissioner?
Working with Commissioner has set new standards for me as an artist regarding what I need when collaborating or being asked to do work. The things that Commissioner is doing might seem basic, but they are essential. It’s astonishing how, as an artist, when you receive these things, you have an epiphany—it feels like a blessing! Yet, these are fundamental necessities. For Commissioner to recognize and meet these needs is unmatched, and I believe it's very important.
Commissioner is setting the standard: It's not just about following orders; there's a mutual understanding and ongoing conversation within this organization. They are setting an example of what the art ecosystem could be, and that's why.