IRMA-International.org: Creator of Knowledge
Information Resources Management Association
Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

Being in the Ruins: Of Ontology of the Mess

Being in the Ruins: Of Ontology of the Mess
View Sample PDF
Copyright: 2025
Pages: 30
Source title: Decolonial Aesthetics of Blackness in Contemporary Art
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Zingisa Nkosinkulu (Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-8716-7.ch001

Purchase

View Being in the Ruins: Of Ontology of the Mess on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the experience of being in ruins and how Black creative work brings to life the question of existential being. It examines the two sides of existence in which decolonial aesthetics represent both being in a place and the condition of those denied full humanity. The chapter reflects on the Black individual, who, as an outsider made of “Black matter,” does not belong in the modern Western world. This individual is considered part of the mess of Blackness. The chapter places Black creative culture in the context of these ruins, showing how it allows Black creators to explore their identity beyond colonial boundaries. In this place, being in ruins creates new, complex existential ideas that turn the Black body into flesh. The chapter unpacks these ideas, presenting the Black body as one deeply connected to dark matter, representing the ruins of modernity—Blackness.

Related Content

Deborah Abiola Fifelola, Foluke Olayinka Unuabonah. © 2026. 40 pages.
Vishnu Achutha Menon, Sandeep Kumar, Anil Shivani. © 2026. 22 pages.
Matthew Alugbin. © 2026. 40 pages.
Esther Adeagbo. © 2026. 28 pages.
Olusegun Jegede. © 2026. 38 pages.
Omolade Ilesanmi. © 2026. 32 pages.
Moses Olusanya Ayoola, Mercy Adenike Bankole. © 2026. 30 pages.
Body Bottom