Joshua Thornton

graphic design // behance.net/joshuathornton4 // @jay.designstudios

These Stars Ain't Nun But Yo Cousins
"These Stars Ain't Nun But Yo Cousins" (TSANBYC) represents black identity, and our relation to an idealized image of ourselves. It refers to the historical significance of black culture and community, and seeks to shift the common understanding of our socio-political position. Not through mass-marketed media, but through exposure to the culture through language, fashion, and design.

The video explores a range of black identities through gender, style, and language. Language and design or style is integral to understanding the culture. TSANBYC empowers black people by documenting a written language for the vast range of vernaculars that have been developed orally and are spoken within the black community.

This light projection is streamlined into something tangible as the display directly connects the viewers to the subjects in a more intentional way. This allows viewers to wonder more about all of the unknowns, just as one would gazing upon the stars and universe and everything around us, engaging in the commentary the project suggests. Promoting black identities in the mainstream consciousness in a way that retains the authenticity and individuality of black identity.

View Book