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| LaDiPo standing in front of the mural by Statik on 47th Street, 600 blocks on the side of a Bronzeville barbara Shop |
Astro Afro Studio is a design practice that addresses the present and future threats to social equality and environmental sustainability by weaponizing art, design, and technology in a creative, subversive manner. Based in Chicago, the city is used as a classroom and laboratory, providing an opportunity to observe, explore, and collaborate.
The specific question I want to press is what are some ways we define "Experimental-ism", while we examine the state of our environment?
LaDiPo has thought critically about experimentalism in his art practice and what that means.
LaDiPo was asked the question, EXPERIMENTALISM is largely centered on the human experience. Universal education was the key to teaching people how to abandon their habits and think creatively.
His response:
Experimentalism to me represents the process of learning by doing - a pedagogy I apply to both my scientific work and artistic practice. As a materials researcher, I am eager to find the potential in products deemed as waste to other industries and incorporate them into the concrete. As an artist, I’ve discovered my own personal style in creating abstract-yet-human-like wire figures. Through exaggerated gestures, these figures greet each other and activate every object they encounter.
WIRE! Figure It Out" by LaDiPo
Bio Long Ladipo Famodu
As a researcher, he studies the future of concrete as a building material at a Chicago-based concrete company. His role is to analyze industrial byproducts for fitness as an alternative to cement which is the binder in concrete. His background in chemistry has equipped him to quickly learn new testing procedures and reference existing literature regarding sustainable material research.
As an artist, his work is a commentary on a neighborhood in flux. He currently resides in Bronzeville, once known as the Black Metropolis. After a period of disinvestment, a wave of new construction is underway with massive single-family houses seeming to pop up overnight. Using collage, he constructs architectural imagery that references the rich history and speculative future of the Black Metropolis.
As a futurist, his mantra is to Never Stop Learning. Outside of work, you may find him at book signings, artists talks, and public lectures covering topics from sustainable construction to algorithmic bias. He is inspired by those who bring together ideas from different fields of study to reframe big problems in today’s society.
