"I am a passenger on spaceship earth... I am not a noun, I am a verb. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process—an integral function of the universe." — Buckminster Fuller
My practice is not a collection of objects, but a singular, unfolding declaration. Operating as a systems-builder, I deploy Ice Station Zero as a mobile Field Station for multi site cross-pollination. Through live scoring sessions and the curation of a Video Almanac, I translate environmental frequencies into a language of hieroglyphs—an evolutionary process in the constant search for truth.” TR7
TAJI RA'OOF NAHL (B. 1961, USA) FINE ARTS GUGGENHEIM FELLOW | SYSTEMS-BUILDER
Contact me - shopraoof@gmail.com
Taji Ra’oof Nahl operates not through disconnected projects, but through a singular, unfolding Declaration. An autodidact authority, his practice functions as a "verb"—an evolutionary process that integrates film, Sonic Sculptures, and archival inquiry into a unified infrastructure of Field Trips. As the developer of Ice Station Zero (ISZ), Nahl deploys his work as a mobile Field Station, utilizing multi site cross-pollination to investigate African American intellectual lineage and civic knowledge systems. His work is included in Temple University’s Intellectual Heritage curriculum, where he situates speculative traditions alongside Octavia Butler and Sun Ra as pedagogical resources. Furthermore, his participation in Unknown Parallels at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), University of Pennsylvania node, functioned as a systemic dialogue with the legacy of Ulysses Jenkins. Central to his practice are "live scoring sessions" and the curation of a Video Almanac, transforming historical research into a language of hieroglyphs. This rigorous system-building is driven by a profound spiritual mandate: a constant search for truth and knowledge as the path to the splendor of Allah. Nahl is the founder of Ra’oof Atelier and the author of the forthcoming book Field Trips to Staged Productions: Ra’oof Invitationals. His work continues to circulate as both a living infrastructure and a site-responsive inquiry into the "Spaceship Earth" trajectory.