Grounding Aspect

An Armour X Colour Collaboration
Colleen Avila

Liberty and soil bleed the same fertile brown; neither is owned, but maintained – loved, raked through, kissed and fought for, rained on, turned into spirits. Both are our livelihood. Both are owed to us. Brown earth freedom will always be revived where it has been lost…

I suppose that we all have different definitions of freedom.

Here liberation is space. Liberation is reclamation. More than that, it’s fun, rest, finally, no more wild west colonizer cowboys, city slicker slimy businessmen. Here we are powerful, not finally, but visibly. This all has been ours this whole time. With brown as our grounding aspect, we explore reclamation of these two figures and fashions which brown and Black people have been disremembered or unincluded from in the white American imaginary.

Vignettes in Sepia
Ahmed Motiwala

brown skin, brown eyes, brown bodies
gloomy nights spent huddled in cozy quarters
no longer, star-crossed lovers, never meant to be
maybe they meet again in another lifetime

brown soil, brown seeds, brown bodies
saplings spring forth, burgeoning life 
from dirt comes flesh and blood
and to the earth it will all return

brown leaves, brown papers, brown bodies
gently rolled up, bound tightly in wraps
lips pressed and flames sparked
the smoke is all a façade

brown books, brown pages, brown bodies
the Seeker of Truth peers relentlessly
through volumes, cover to leathery cover
all Knowledge resides within them

brown bodies, brown bodies, brown bodies
history built upon their backs and of their brow
sent back to Mothers to fight for Fathers in a
bloody divorce. the Children of God are all orphans.

La Iglesia
Milo Santiago

la iglesia stands empty now,
and her cobblestone courtyard would lie barren if not for the ahuehuete trees,
whose branches are embraced tenderly by slender vines even as their roots struggle 
against cracked and aged pavement 
which serves both as a suffocation and as the path from 
earth to hell to damnation to sanctity
and back
to where the ahuehuete wait, 
the old men of the water,
eternal sentinels of Eden’s garden.

where Sunday after service was once punctuated by vendors’ cries of prices baratos and tapestries bellezas ringing throughout the pueblo
and city-life noises, inca doves cooing from atop sun-faded gazebos 
and passersby grasping their children by the hand as they signal for un taxi, 
the stray dog lapping sticky sweetness melting from a forgotten paleta,
paper kites drifting lazily across the skyline and observed by old men peeling ripe mangoes on a bench.
in the evening, music from mariachi bands overflowed into the streets, 
and children and couples would begin to dance.

a bronze statue, jesus lies prostrated on the ground–
yet his gaze is pointed towards the heavens, and his silence is challenged
only by the sun, el sol, golden rays glancing off of brown metal
and brown bodies, into brown eyes and across brown weathered hands which belong to
mi mama y mi abuela, whose lips form the same prayer whispered breathlessly
to a hollow god in an empty square.

Creative Direction Jonah Thornton, Colleen Avila, and Izzy Jefferis
Words Colleen Avila, Ahmed Motiwala, and Milo Santiago
Photographs Anika Kumar, Anjali Reddy
Editor Nisha Mani
Stylists Thulan Unsoeld, Faith Phillips, Noor Bekhiet
Featuring Lu Folsey, Jared Wilson, Nafkot Seife, Faith Phillips

Armour Magazine Season 26 — S/S 2021

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Kyle
Super Senior 🤩 | 5'6" 📏 | Working Out 🏋

Kyle might be short, but he's got a big personality. His Brothers from Alpha Delt call him peacock because of both his arrogance and style. Don't be fooled by the fratty attitude - Kyle's got a soft side. Not in a sweet way, though, just in a deeply insecure way. He's looking for someone to heat thing up in his bedroom this Valentine's.

This will close in 0 seconds

Bella
Cancer ♋️  | Empath 💕 | Animal Lover 🐾

Bella's the goth girlfriend of your dreams. Underneath the eyeliner, she's got a heart of gold, and is incredibly sweet. She believes relationships should be 50/50, and by that, she means she wants someone who spends 50% of their day with her and the other 50% wishing they were with her.
She's most compatible with Fire signs, and can't wait to find her next flame.

This will close in 0 seconds

Eleanor
Academic Weapon 💪 | ESTJ 🧠 | Vaccinated 💉

Eleanor is a Type-A business girly. Her Google Calendar is full and her LinkedIn is popping. She has extremely high standards for both herself and others, and is always striving to be the best. This girlboss has cleared her schedule this Valentines, and can't wait to meet her match.

This will close in 0 seconds

AJ
420 Friendly 🍃 | Lo Fi Beats 🎵 | Netflix and Chill 🍿

Aj (short for Anthony James, but please don't call him that) is one cool cat. This former pre-med-turned stoner now spends his days getting blitzed, playing Xbox, and carrying around his skateboard (which he never actually rides). Although his intense anxiety made him switch majors, he never switches up his self-medication regime, involving a quarter a week. In the spirit of the holiday, he's taking a break from lighting up to look for someone to light up his life.

This will close in 0 seconds

Who creates the perfect match?

This will close in 0 seconds