NON TRILOGY

The transnational republic of NON is set up as a digital nation of the African Diaspora. A platform focussing on the sounds of African diaspora and Black identity, NON was created with the idea of an alternative public space confronting hegemonic power structures. « In politically charged multimedia art and joint releases with other like-minded collectives, the label’s members have built a community untethered by genre or geographic location. » Celebrating blackness and highlighting African and African-diasporic voices, NON aims to write a new kind of black history.
NON Trilogy (2018) is a « three-part compilation series framed as a ‘genome-wide association study’ of the 42 participating artists (or ‘citizens’ of NON’s transnational republic) that outlines their supposed genetic commonalities » (Max Mertens).

NON’s accompanying press release adds some mock-scientific jargon: « This large-scale genome-wide analysis in NON Citizens has extended the importance of several RBC-associated genetic loci to AAs and identified allelic heterogeneity and pleiotropy at several previously unknown genetic loci associated with blood cell traits. » The oppressive classification of individuals of different genotypes into discrete « races » was, and continues to be, practised within scientific disciplines (including physical anthropology). With the disruptive subtext of their music compilation series, NON here formulates a biting critique of the long legacy of scientific legitimizations of racism.

NON is a digital nation state of the African diaspora. Co-founders Chino Amobi (Richmond, US), Congolese artist Melika Ngombe Kolongo AKA Nkisi (London) and South African performance artist Angel-Ho (Angelo Antonio Valerio) have created an experimental record label, radical art project and cross-continental social network. The platform allows listeners and members, called “NON citizens” to present their work and connect with a growing number of other NON citizens. NON´s political mission of confronting power structures that exclude black people is spread via a contingent of art forms: music, video, visuals, fashion, graphic design. With slogans such as “Exorcise the language of domination” NON fights against the silencing of black people everywhere.

non.com.co