KUBATANA. An Exhibition with Contemporary African Artists.

SERGE ATTUKWEI CLOTTEY GHANA

Photo: Nii Odzenma

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Serge Attukwei Clottey was born in 1985 in Accra,

This work references the nets used by fishing communi-

Ghana. He is known for work that examines the powerful

ties along the coast of Ghana. The production process,

agency of everyday objects. Working across installation,

form and installation of the work adopt the performative

performance, photography and sculpture, Clottey explores

actions and inactions involved in the traditional usage of

personal and political narratives rooted in histories of trade

the fishing nets. It also makes inferences to the economic

and migration. Based in Accra and working international-

and social nuances embedded in the material.

ly, Clottey refers to his work as ‘Afrogallonism’, a concept

Recent solo shows include Brighton University, UK

that confronts the question of material culture through

(2018), 360LA, Accra, Ghana (2018), Untitled Art Fair,

the utilisation of a yellow plastic jerrycan known in Ghana

Miami, USA (2018), Differences Between, Jane Lombard

as a ‘Kufuor gallon’. By cutting, drilling, stitching and

Gallery, New York, USA (2018), Gallery 1957, Dubai

melting these found materials, Clottey makes sculptural

(2018). His works are held in private collections, including

installations that are bold assemblages, acting as a means

Modern Forms, UK, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, Seth

of inquiry into the languages of form and abstraction.

Dei Foundation, Accra,The World Bank Collection,Wash-

For Kubatana, Clottey has made a site-specific work,

ington D.C., Facebook Headquarters, San Francisco,Tuc-

NOKO Y3 DZEN – There’s Something in the World, that

son Museum of Art, Arizona and MACCAL (Museum of

will cover the façade of Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium.

African Contemporary Art), Marrakesh, Morocco.

Serge Attukwei Clottey

NOKO Y3 DZEN – There’s Something in the World, 2019 | Cut up gallon containers stitched together | Variable dimensions Site-specific work, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium | Photographed by Nii Odzenma | Courtesy of Gallery 1957

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IBRAHIM MAHAMA GHANA

Courtesy: Peter Rosemann

Ibrahim Mahama was born in 1987 in Tamale, Ghana.

Another feature which is equally central to the artist’s

He lives and works in Tamale, as well as Accra and Kumasi.

practice is the process by which he obtains the sacks,

Mahama uses the transformation of materials to explore

usually involving negotiation and exchange. Moreover,

themes of commodity, migration, globalisation and eco-

the particular location of the work’s production site, such

nomic exchange. Often made in collaboration with others,

as a redundant, former state-run factory or station, lends

his large-scale installations employ materials gathered

added resonance, since it is through the political exigencies

from urban environments, such as remnants of wood and

of space and the evolution of materials from one context

textiles or jute sacks, which are sewn together and draped

to another that the work acquires its final meaning.

over architectural structures.

At this year’s Venice Biennale, Mahama’s work will be

It was Mahama’s interest in material, process and

featured in the Ghana pavilion. In addition to Kubatana,

audience that led him to focus on jute sacks in particu-

he will also in 2019 be exhibiting his installation La­

lar, since they are synonymous with the trade markets of

bour of Many at Norval Foundation, Cape Town (2019).

Ghana where he lives and works. Fabricated in Southeast

His work has appeared in international exhibitions in-

Asia, the sacks are imported by the Ghana Cocoa Boards

cluding Documenta 14, Athens and Kassel, Germany

to transport cocoa beans, but end up as multifunctional

(2017), 56th Venice Biennale (2015), Kunstsammlung

objects, used for both the transportation of food and

Nordrhein-Westfalen, K21, Dusseldorf, Germany (2015),

commodities and for many daily chores around the home.

The Broad Art Museum, Michigan (2015), Kunsthal

‘You find different points of aesthetics within the surface

Charlottenborg, Copenhagen and Holbæk (2016) and

of the sacks’ fabric’, Mahama has said. ‘I am interested in

Tel Aviv Art Museum, Israel (2016).

how crisis and failure are absorbed into this material, with strong references to global transaction and how capitalist structures work.’

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Ibrahim Mahama

K AW AOP, 2015 | Wax print on coal sacks with screen prints and markings | 278 x 258 cm Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection

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SADIKOU OUKPEDJO TOGO

Courtesy: Antoine Tempé

Sadikou Oukpedjo was born in 1975 in Kétao, Togo,

Art Twenty One. He also participated in the Fondation

and lives and works in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. In 1998,

Blachère art residency program in La Somone, Senegal.

Oukpedjo joined Paul Ahyi’s studio where he worked for

In 2016, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury presented his works in

most part on woodcarving and assembly. In addition, he

the solo exhibition Anima at the fringe of the 12th Dakar

started painting and diversifying his experimentation into

Biennale. In late 2016, he participated in residencies at

chalk, canvases, different types of paper and highlight-

the Thread programme in Senegal (Josef & Anni Albers

ing with pastel colours. In 2013, after a stay in Bamako,

Foundation) and at La Vallée in Brussels. In 2017, his

he moved to Abidjan where he devoted himself entirely

works were presented at the Paris Art Fair and at 1­-54

to painting.

Contemporary African Art Fair, Somerset House, Lon-

On his return from the Dakar Biennale in 2014

don. In 2018, he took part in the exhibition Des Hommes

Oukpedjo began a series of drawings on newsprint of

et des Totems alongside Amadou Sanogo and Soly Cissé

ambiguous figures, a cross between the human and the

at Galerie Le Manège, Dakar, Senegal. In the same year,

animal. These were exhibited for the first time at that

Oukpedjo was selected to take part in the Institut Français

year’s 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London.

residency program at the Cité Internationale des Art de

He questions the notions of heritage and origin through

Paris. His works are part of the Fondation Blachère,

the prism of current issues and West-African cosmogony

Tiroche Deleon Collection and Mohammed VI Museum.

and anthropogony.

In 2015, his work was exhibited for the first time in Lagos, Nigeria, in the exhibition Platform, presented by

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Sadikou Oukpedjo

Mutation, 2016 | Wood | 170 x 223 x 215 cm | Copyright of the artist | Courtesy of the artist and Galeri Cécile Fakhoury

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LEONCE RAPHAEL AGBODJELOU BENIN

Courtesy: Jack Bell Gallery, London

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Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou was born in 1965 in

schmidt Fine Photographs,Wiesbaden, Germany (2013).

Porto-Novo, Benin, and is one of his country’s pre-em-

Selected group show include Rassemblement, Jack Bell

inent photographers. He was trained by his father, the

Gallery, London (2018), Regarding Africa: Contemporary

world-renowned photographer Joseph Moise Agbodjelou

Art and the Afro-Futuristic Connection, Tel Aviv Museum

(1912–2000). His ongoing portraiture project, Citizens of

of Art, Israel (2017), African-Print Fashion Now! A Story

Porto-Novo, captures the people of Benin’s capital. Using

of Taste, Globalisation and Style, Museum Los Angeles

a daylight studio and a medium format film, the artist

(2017), Disguise: Masks and Global African Art, Brook-

interprets the experience of a generation caught between

lyn Museum New York (2016), Making and Unmaking,

tradition and progress.

curated by Duro Olowu, Camden Arts Centre, London

Agbodjelou is the founder and Director of the first

(2016), Making Africa, A Continent of Contemporary De­

photographic school in Benin and has recently been ap-

sign, Vitra Museum, Basel – travelling to Guggenheim

pointed President of the Photographer’s Association of

Museum Bilbao (2015) – and Pangaea: New Art from

Porto-Novo.

Africa & Latin America, Saatchi Gallery London (2014).

Selected solo shows include Citizens of Porto-Novo

Acquisitions have been made by the National Gallery

(Camo), Jack Bell Gallery, London (2018), Borderlands,

of Canada, Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art,

Jack Bell Gallery, London (2016), Code Noir, Jack Bell

Pittsburgh, Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow and Pitt Rivers

Gallery, London (2015) and The Egungun Project, Klein-

Museum, Oxford.

Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou

Untitled Triptych (Demoiselles de Porto-Novo Series), 2012 | C-print | 100 x 150 cm | Courtesy of Jack Bell Gallery, London Untitled Triptych (Demoiselles de Porto-Novo Series), 2012 | C-print | 100 x 150 cm | Courtesy of Jack Bell Gallery, London

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GERALD CHUKWUMA NIGERIA

Courtesy of Nnaemezie Asogwa

Gerald Chukwuma was born in 1973 and lives and

materials to render new stories of Nigeria’s sociopolitical

works in Lagos, Nigeria. He graduated from the Univer-

landscape.The artist is drawn to the movements of people

sity of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2003 with first class honours.

through voluntary and forced migration as a vital stage

Chukwuma is one of Nigeria’s fastest rising contemporary

in the progress of our collective humanity. This sense of

artists, noted for his intricately crafted sculptures on wood

optimism is imbued in his work by his playfully illustrative

panels. The materials he chooses are common enough;

characters, drawn from a wide variety of visual forms

however, using in his unique way a range of techniques –

present in Nigeria’s deep cultural history.

including burning, chiselling and painting – he captures a

Chukwuma has participated extensively in solo and

richly layered history that is imbedded with personal and

group exhibitions across Nigeria and internationally.These

political meaning. The use of traditional Uli and Nsibidi

include Wrinkles, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London

symbols links his work to the Nsukka art tradition which

(2019), Art X Lagos, Civic Center, Lagos (2018), Standing

is credited with expanding and modernising the Igbo cul-

Ovation, Gallery 1957, Accra (2017), Art X Lagos, Civic

tural aesthetic. Meanwhile, the transformation of found

Center, Lagos (2016), People’s Paradise, Temple Muse,

objects into highly detailed artworks roots him firmly in

Lagos (2016), Essentials, Alexis Galleries, Lagos (2015),

the contemporary moment, with its concern for rapid

The Contemporaries, The Wheatbeaker, Lagos (2015),

environmental and ecological change.

Today In History, Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Abuja

Throughout his work – which embraces painting,

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(2015), Soaking Up Beauty, Constant Capital, Lagos

sculpture and collage – Chukwuma explores migration

(2014), Highlife II, Ethnocentrique, Lagos (2013), Music

as a constant process of transformation and reinvention.

Lesson, Alexis Gallery, Lagos (2012), Highlife I, Exhibition

With the implications of globalisation on his local com-

of Designs and Art, Ethnocentrique, Lagos (2011) and

munity always in mind, Chukwuma transforms everyday

Heden Daagse Afrikaanse Kunst, Amsterdam (2010).

Gerald Chukwuma

‘Ishi kote ebu’ – The Victim’s Journey, 2018 | Mixed media | 213,4 x 170,2 cm | Courtesy of artist and Jon Harald Nilsen

39

NIYI OLAGUNJU NIGERIA

Photo: John Currin, Courtesy of TAFETA

Niyi Olagunju was born in 1981 in Sagamu, Nigeria, and

Olagunju’s contemporary appropriation of traditional

lives and works in Abuja, Nigeria, and London. He holds

African sculptures continues his exploration of global

a National Diploma in General Art from Yaba College

trade and, in his words, ‘the absolute commoditisation of

of Technology, Lagos. He gained a scholarship to study

everything’. The sculptures, which are usually exhibited

at St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford (2006–09)

alongside preparatory sketches, are bisected vertically and

and graduated with a BA Fine Arts (Hons.) degree with

have their internal surfaces primed and coated in metals

concentrations in art history, studio art and visual theory.

mined from the region from which they are originally

He then went on to Texas Christian University in Fort

sourced. The project questions the value system driving

Worth, Texas, where he obtained an MA Fine Arts with

the continuing growth in the sale of traditional African

specialisation in sculpture. Prior to his degree at Oxford,

artefacts, which, although originally made and used for

Olagunju served with the British Army from 2002 to

specific traditional functions, are now ultimately valued

2006, with postings in Basra, Iraq and Northern Ireland.

according to their provenance and rarity. Olagunju’s use

By 2011, he was known as an artist with exhibitions

of precious and semi-precious metals is a reminder of the

across three continents, so from 2011 to late 2015 he

complex relationships that emerge from the exploitation

was asked to serve as a Special Assistant to the Hon-

of natural resources on the African continent, and the

ourable Minister of State of the FCT, Nigeria, where

subsequent effects on communities and their cultural leg-

he was tasked with the responsibility of formulating and

acies. Recent exhibitions include African Art:The Market

implementing social development initiatives to strengthen

Now, JP Morgan, London (2016).

arts and culture.

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Niyi Olagunju

Ekpiri #22, 2017 | Pods of ekpiri seeds, gold leaf & copper wire | 132 x 124 x 4 cm Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection

41

EDDY KAMUANGA ILUNGA DEMOCRATIC REPU BLIC OF CONGO

Photo: Jonathan Greet

Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga was born in 1991 in the Dem-

and elegiac.The Congolese fabrics they wear, painted like

ocratic Republic of Congo and studied painting at the

European drapery, recount the developing story of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa before abandoning

DR Congo of today; nevertheless, the inter-dimensional

his studies there in 2011.

ambiguity of the images, between solidity and flatness,

In his work, Kamuanga Ilunga explores the seismic

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suggests an underlying anguish and emptiness.

shifts in the economic, political and social identity of the

Kamuanga Ilunga’s work has been exhibited across

DRC that have taken place since the colonial era. Increas-

Africa, notably at Dak’Art Biennale OFF, Senegal, 2014,

ingly globalised, yet still devoutly Christian, much of the

and made its London debut at the Saatchi Gallery’s Pan­

country completely rejects its multi-ethnic indigenous

gaea II in 2015. The enormous excitement around the

heritage. It is this loss of their traditional cultures that

24-year-old artist at London’s 1-54 Contemporary Afri-

his listless figures seem to mourn, their bright fabrics

can Art Fair in 2015 and at New York’s Armory Show in

hanging limply from their bodies, their hands clutching

2016 was emphasised by an article in the How to Spend

ritual objects whose functions seem less and less apparent.

It feature of the Financial Times, which employed his

Today’s DRC is the world’s largest exporter of coltan, a

work Lost to represent The Best of New York Armory,

raw material used in computer chips and mobile phones,

2016. Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga was longlisted for the FT/

and we see this ubiquitous marker of global modernity

Oppenheimer Funds Emerging Voices Awards 2016, and

creeping across the skin of the artist’s figures. The monu-

in 2017 his work was included in African-Print Fashion

mental quality of the works makes the figures both heroic

Now! at the Fowler Museum, UCLA.

Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga

Entre nous, 2015 | Acrylic and oil painting on canvas | 180 x 200 cm ©Eddy Kamuanga, courtesy Collection Gervanne & Matthias Leridon

43

PAMELA PHATSIMO SUNSTRUM BOTSWANA

Photo: Christina Cuevas

Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum was born in 1980 in

Solo shows include There are Mechanisms in Place,

Mochudi, Botswana, and divides her time today between

Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town, South Africa

Toronto, Canada, and Johannesburg, South Africa. She

(2018), Cape Town Art Fair, South Africa (2018), Om­

holds an MA in Fine Art from the Mount Royal School of

phalos, Interlochen Centre for the Arts, Interlochen MI,

Interdisciplinary Art, Maryland Institute College of Art,

USA (2016), Polyhedra, Tiwani Contemporary, London

USA (2007) and a BA in International Studies (Transna-

(2016). Recent exhibitions include Women on Aeroplanes,

tional Cultures) from the University of North Carolina,

The Showroom, London (2018), Drawing in/Drawing

USA (2004).

out: Contemporary Drawing, The Phillips Museum of Art,

In her recent body of work Sunstrum explores early

Lancaster (2018), Carry Over: New Voices from the Global

19th-century studio photography portraits of black and

African Diaspora, Smack Mellon, NewYork (2018), Seeing

brown people posed against contrived, hand-painted land-

in the Dark, Cinematek Brussels, Art Brussels, Belgium

scapes. She is inspired by the manner in which the subjects

(2016), 1-54 Film Programme, 1-54 Contemporary Af-

in the photographs engage in self-mythology, casting their

rican Art Fair, Somerset House, London (2016), Surface/

own image, regardless of agency. Sunstrum’s landscapes

Subtext, Everard Read Gallery, London (2016) and Fan-

also expand on themes of timelessness; she reconstructs

tastic, NMMU Bird Street Art Gallery, Port Elizabeth,

sites, both real and imagined, revealing the small scale

South Africa (2015).

of individuals within the vast universe, a concept that is reminiscent of 18th-century notions of the sublime.

44

Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum

Sightseer, 2018 | Pencil and gouache on Aquaboard | 22,5 x 30,5 cm | Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection The Ostrich, 2018 | Pencil and gouache on wood panel | 40 x 50 cm | Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection

45

IGSHAAN ADAMS SOUTH AFRICA

Courtesy of the artist and Black Projects

Igshaan Adams was born in 1982 in Cape Town, South

I am no more, Akershus Kunstsenter, Oslo (2019), When

Africa, and lives and works there today. In 2009, he re-

Dust Settles, Gallery in the Round, Grahamstown |

ceived a Diploma in Fine Art from the Ruth Prowse School

Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg (2018), Al Latîf,

of Art, Cape Town. Combining aspects of performance,

blank projects, Cape Town (2017), Oorskot, blank pro-

weaving, sculpture and installation that draw upon his

jects, Cape Town (2016) and Parda, blank projects, Cape

upbringing, his cross-disciplinary practice is an ongoing

Town (2015). Adams has also participated in numerous

investigation into hybrid identity, particularly in relation

group shows, both locally and internationally, including

to race and sexuality. Raised by Christian grandparents in

In This Imperfect Present Moment at the Seattle Art Muse-

a community racially classified as ‘coloured’ under apart-

um (2018), Ravelled Threads at Sean Kelly Gallery, New

heid legislature, he is an observant but liberal Muslim who

York (2018), Da Uno a Dieci, Galleria Massimo Manini,

occupies a precarious place in his religious community

Brescia (2018), Les jour qui vient, Galerie des Galeries,

because of his homosexuality. As such, the quiet activism

Paris (2017) and Barriers, Wanås Foundation, Knislinge,

of Adams’ work speaks to his experiences of racial, reli-

Sweden (2015).

gious and sexual liminality, while breaking with the strong

Adams has been selected for a number of artist resi-

representational convention found in recent South African

dencies, among them the Sommerakademie im Zentrum

art. He uses the material and formal iconographies of

Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland and the IAAB / Pro Helvetia

Islam and ‘coloured’ culture to develop a more equivocal,

residency, Basel, Switzerland. In 2018, Adams was award-

phenomenological approach towards these concerns and

ed the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Visual Art.

offer a novel, affective view of cultural hybridity.

Selected solo exhibitions include CONDO London (hosted by Corvi-Mora and greengrassi), London (2019),

46

Igshaan Adams

Parda IV, 2015 | Woven nylon rope and string | 210 x 165 cm | Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection

47

LHOLA AMIRA SOUTH AFRICA

Courtesy of SMAC Gallery

48

Lhola Amira was born in 1984 in Gugulethu, South

entitled 29°̊06’S 26° 13’E. She presented a solo project,

Africa, and currently lives and works in Cape Town. Lhola

curated by Nontobeko Ntombela at Investec Cape Town

Amira is the alter ego for artist, curator and academic

Art Fair in 2018. Amira’s recent appearances include The

Khanyisile Mbongwa – an alternative artist identity. Lhola

powers of emotions, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2018) and

Amira was, in a sense, born from the body of Mbongwa,

29º06’S 26º13’E at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary

both women sharing their plural existence, cohabiting

Art Africa (MOCAA) in a programme of performative

as split selves.

and visual arts curated by Jay Pather (2017). Recent

In essence, Lhola Amira’s work highlights new mani-

group exhibitions include Forward? Forward! Forward,

festations of inequality. Her artistic practice speaks of the

Stellenbosch University Museum, Stellenbosch, South

survival of black individuals, in particular black women,

Africa (2018) and Lhola Amira in Conversation with Ri­

in a world dominated by white men. Khanyisile Mbong-

namanyanga Hariputirwe at Instruments of Memory, a

wa was a founding member of both the artist collective

solo exhibition by Masimba Hwatiand (2017). In 2019,

Gugulective and Vasiki Creative Citizens, and is cur-

Lhola will take part in two shows at Skövde Konsthall

rently completing an interdisciplinary Masters degree in

& Konstmuseum, Skövde, Sweden and SMAC Gallery,

Performance Art, Public Art and Public Spheres at the

Johannesburg, South Africa. Lhola Amira’s work forms

University of Cape Town in affiliation with the Institute

part of multiple local and international collections,

of Creative Arts (ICA).

including Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa

The artist presented her first solo show at SMAC

(MOCAA),Tiroche DeLeon Collection, Skövde Art Mu-

in Stellenbosch: Looking for Ghana & The Red Suitcase

seum, Iziko South African National Gallery and Robert

(2017). She also made three appearances in Bloemfontein

Devereux collection.

Lhola Amira

LAGOM: Breaking Bread with the Self-Righteous, 2017 | Video & audio | 9’ 56’’ | Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection Looking for Ghana & the Red Suitcase, 2017 | Sepia video & stereo audio | 11’ 04’’ | Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection

49

GABRIELLE GOLIATH SOUTH AFRICA

Photo: Anthea Pockroy

Gabrielle Goliath was born in 1983 in Kimberly, South

South Africa, Elegy performances recall the identity of

Africa. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate with the In-

individuals whose subjectivities have been fundamentally

stitute for Creative Arts at the University of Cape Town.

violated and who are, as such, all too easily consigned to

Goliath situates her art practice within contexts marked by

a generic, all-encompassing victimhood.

the traces, disparities and as yet unreconciled traumas of

Goliath has exhibited widely and recently participated

colonialism and apartheid, as well as socially entrenched

in the Verbo Performance Art Festival, São Paulo (2018),

structures of patriarchal power and rape culture. She seeks

the Palais de Tokyo’s Do Disturb Festival, Paris (2018), the

to resist the violence involved when black, brown, femi-

National Arts Festival, Makhanda, South Africa (2018),

nine, queer and vulnerable bodies are routinely fixed by

as well as the 11th Bamako Encounters Biennale, Mali

forms of representation, and hopes to enable opportunities

(2017). She has won a number of awards, including the

for affective, relational encounters.

Institut Français Afrique en Créations Prize (Bamako

Initiated in 2015, Elegy is a long-term commemorative

Biennale) and, most recently, the prestigious Standard

performance project. Staged in various locations and con-

Bank Young Artist Award (2019). She is also a shortlisted

texts, performances call together a group of female vocal

candidate for the Future Generation Art Prize (2019).

performers who collectively enact a ritual of mourning.

Goliath’s work features in numerous public and private

The performance sustains a kind of sung cry, evoking

collections, including the Tate Modern, Iziko South Af-

the presence of an absent individual, and is physically

rican National Gallery, Johannesburg Art Gallery and

demanding for the performer. Responding to the physical,

Wits Art Museum.

ontological and structural outworkings of rape culture in

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Gabrielle Goliath

Elegy_ Eunice Ntombifuthi Dube, Centre for the Less Good Idea, Johannesburg, 2018 | Video | Duration: Variable Courtesy of Goodman Gallery

51

ZANELE MUHOLI SOUTH AFRICA

© Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of the artist, Yancey Richardson, New York, and Stevenson Cape Town / Johannesburg

52

Zanele Muholi was born in 1972 in Umlazi, South

diversity of this community in South Africa and in various

Africa, and lives and works in Johannesburg. She is a

countries she has visited in recent years. Her commit-

photographer who self-identifies as a visual activist. Her

ment to redressing the social injustices faced by LGBTI

development as a photographer has been deeply inter-

community members is profound, and she embraces a

twined with her advocacy on behalf of the lesbian, gay,

subjective perspective in her practice by forming relation-

bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community

ships with the individuals she depicts: the women in Only

in South Africa and beyond.

Half the Picture (2003–04), the transgendered or gay men

After Muholi co-founded the Forum for the Empow-

in Beulahs (2006–10), and the couples in Being (2007).

erment of Women (FEW) in South Africa in 2002, she

Muholi will be representing her country at this year’s

enrolled in the advanced programme in photography at

Venice Biennale in the pavilion show May You Live in

the Market Photo Workshop in Newtown, South Africa,

Interesting Times. Among the many solo exhibititions of

founded by the photographer David Goldblatt in 1989.

Muholi’s work are Vukani/Rise, Open Eye Gallery, Liver-

In 2009, Muholi earned her MFA in documentary media

pool (2015) and Somnyama Ngonyama,Yancey Richard-

from Ryerson University in Toronto. Since her first solo

son, New York City (2015). She has participated in many

exhibition, Visual Sexuality, in Johannesburg in 2004,

group exhibitions, including Systematically Personae at

Muholi has produced a number of photographic series that

the FotoFocus Biennal, National Underground Railroad

investigate the severe disconnect in post-apartheid South

Freedom Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (2016) and Art/Afri­

Africa between the equality promoted by the country’s

que, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris (2017). Photographs

1996 Constitution and the bigotry toward and violent acts

from Muholi’s Faces and Phases series were included in

targeting individuals within the LGBTI community. As

the São Paulo Biennial (2010), Documenta (2012) and

an ensemble, Muholi’s photographs display the depth and

the South African Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2013).

Zanele Muholi

Vile, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2016 | Gelatin silver print | 80 x 66 cm | Courtesy of the artist and Oliver Elst

53

CINGA SAMSON SOUTH AFRICA

Courtesy of Established Africa

Cinga Samson was born in 1986 in Cape Town, South

nationalistic narrative of social cohesion. He is interested

Africa, where he now lives and works. He studied commer-

in their disillusionment with institutions (religious, ed-

cial photography at Stellenbosch Academy, South Africa,

ucational, etc.) that appear to be maintaining the status

and completed a course in Graphic Design at Learn to

quo by regulating and pacifying rather than furthering

Earn in partnership with Stellenbosch University. In 2017,

the radical development so longed for.

he received The Tollman Visual Arts Award.

54

He has had numerous solo exhibitions including Sa-

Cinga Samson’s work addresses themes of masculinity,

fari Fantasy, Blank Projects Gallery, Cape Town (2017),

spirituality and race against the backdrop of postcoloni-

Ubugqoboka Magqoboka, Blank Projects Gallery, Cape

alism. Painting personal visions together with imagery

Town (2016) and Thirty Pieces of Silver, Blank Projects

culled and pieced together from art history books, Samson

Gallery, Cape Town (2015).

has cultivated a style that is more reminiscent of formal

Samson has participated in several group shows, in-

traditions of European art than it is of contemporary

cluding Umthamo, Maitland Institute, Cape Town (with

South African painting. Moving between self-portraits,

Nicholas Hlobo)(2018), blank, Galerie Guida W. Bau-

vanitas-like still lifes and depictions of conspiratorial white

dach, Berlin (2018), 17, Blank Projects Gallery, Cape

men in Victorian costume, his paintings are anachronistic

Town (2017), A Painting Today, Stevenson, Cape Town

and surreal. As in visions or dreams, figures and objects

(2017), In the night I remember (curated by Kabelo Malat-

emerge, strangely illuminated, from cold and murky inte-

sie), Stevenson, Johannesburg (2013), Our Fathers (curat-

riors. His artworks engage with the frustrations of young

ed by Kirsty Cockerill and Chantal Louw), AVA Gallery,

black Africans and their sense of displacement within the

Cape Town (2012).

Cinga Samson

Two Piece 2, 2018 | Oil on canvas | 118 x 93,5 cm | Courtesy of the artist and Oliver Elst

55

TAKUNDA REGIS BILLIAT ZIMBABWE

Photo: Kristin Hjellegjerde

Takunda Regis Billiat was born in 1990 in Harare,

bindings he uses to bind his sculptures carry social signif-

Zimbabwe, where he now lives and works. He graduated

icance. They are collected from the off-cuts found outside

in 2014 from the National Gallery Visual Art Studio,

Harare sweatshops, the same material which is collected

where he had specialized in painting. Billiat’s sculptural

by the poor in order to make their clothes – an allusion

works grapple viscerally with Christianity and the Bible

to a society falling apart and yet desperately clinging to

as a social construct, aiming to sound a warning about

its identity.

the rise of charismatic churches in Zimbabwe. The artist

Exhibitions include Cape Town Art Fair, First

is alarmed by the influence of charismatic preachers and

Floor Gallery Harare, Cape Town, South Africa (2018),

their ability to exploit the ignorance of their congrega-

Kubatana, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2018),

tion, rather than offer insights into the actual content of

Collaging the City, First Floor Gallery Harare, Harare,

their religion.

Zimbabwe (2017), Art Africa, First Floor Gallery Harare,

Each object is selected for the complex and multi-

Cape Town, South Africa (2017), FNB Joburg Art Fair,

ple stories it can tell about the way it has been utilised,

First Floor Gallery Harare, Johannesburg, South Africa

historically and currently. One such object is the cow

(2017), AKAA Paris, First Floor Gallery Harare, Paris,

horn, a symbol at the core of Zimbabwean culture of

France (2017), Mupangara Runhare, First Floor Gallery

wealth, marriage and communication with the spirits.

Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe (2017), THAT Art Fair, First

The use in his work of discarded telephone receivers is a

Floor Gallery Harare, Cape Town, South Africa (2016)

further reference to broken infrastructure and the waste

and ‘I am because you are’, First Floor Gallery Harare,

materials filling the streets, but also to the broken lines

Harare, Zimbabwe (2016).

of communication between generations. Even the cloth

56

Takunda Regis Billiat

Roots Roots Roots Roots Roots

series series series series series

R, 2017 | Cow horns, wire and binding | 60 x 90 cm | Courtesy of the artist O, 2017 | Cow horns, wire and binding | 60 x 80 cm | Courtesy of the artist O2, 2017 | Cow horns, wire and binding | 60 x 80 cm | Courtesy of the artist T, 2017 | Cow horns, wire and binding | 60 x 80 cm | Courtesy of the artist S, 2017 | Cow horns, wire and binding | 80 x 60 cm | Courtesy of the artist

57

TROY MAKAZA ZIMBABWE

Courtesy of First Floor Gallery

58

Troy Makaza was born in 1994 in Harare, Zimbabwe,

(2017), Collaging The City, First Floor Gallery Harare,

where he also lives and works today. He holds a National

Harare, Zimbabwe (2017), Cape Town Art Fair, First

Certificate in Fine Art from the National Gallery of Zim-

Floor Gallery Harare, Cape Town, South Africa (2017),

babwe Visual Arts Studios (2015). Troy Makaza’s surreal

London Art Fair, First Floor Gallery Harare, London

works, woven from painted strings of silicon, inhabit a

(2017), Face The Magic, Loving | Monro, Los Angeles

space on either side of painting and sculpture. Threadlike

(2017), AKAA Paris, First Floor Gallery Harare, Paris

spider webs of hair, accented with bands and braids of

(2016), FNB Joburg Art Fair, First Floor Gallery Ha-

brightly coloured silicon, are part of Makaza’s broader

rare, Johannesburg, South Africa (2016), ‘I am because

examination of the fluid relationships between the sexes

you are’, First Floor Gallery Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe

in contemporary Zimbabwe. The twisted strands build

(2016), Bound Together, First Floor Gallery Harare, Hara-

powerful metaphors for social and intimate spaces, where

re, Zimbabwe (2016), THAT Art Fair, First Floor Gallery

traditional roles are no longer assured and liberal attitudes

Harare, Cape Town, South Africa (2016), But He’s Got

don’t always belong.

No Clothes On, Commune 1 Gallery, Cape Town, South

Makaza has taken part in numerous international

Africa (2015), Harare No Limits, Harare International

exhibitions, including Another Antipodes, PS Art Space,

Festival of the Arts, First Floor Gallery Harare, Harare,

Fremantle, Australia (2017), FNB Joburg Art Fair, First

Zimbabwe (2015), Kuyaruka – Age of Accountability,

Floor Gallery Harare, Johannesburg, South Africa (2017),

First Floor Gallery Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe (2015)

AKAA Paris, First Floor Gallery Harare, Paris (2017),

and Green Shoots, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare,

Young Now, Hazard Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Zimbabwe (2014).

Troy Makaza

Tender Trap (Plausible Deniability), 2017 | Silicon-infused paint | 120 x 160 cm Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection

59

WYCLIFFE MUNDOPA ZIMBABWE

Courtesy of First Floor Gallery

Wycliffe Mundopa was born in 1987 in Rusape, Zim-

60

ners, the beautiful, the ugly, the selfish and the greedy.

babwe. Today he lives and works in Harare. He holds a

Mundopa has shown his works in numerous exhibi-

National Certificate in Fine Art from the National Gallery

tions, including Defying the narrative, Ever Gold Projects,

of Zimbabwe Visual Arts Studios (2007). Mundopa has

San Francisco (2018), Tomorrows/Today, Cape Town Art

devoted himself to capturing in his paintings the lives of

Fair, First Floor Gallery Harare, Cape Town (2018), Hello

women and children in Harare’s underprivileged neigh-

Harare, part of Collaging the City, First Floor Gallery

bourhoods. He has demonstrated a relentless commitment

Harare (2017), Joburg Art Fair, First Floor Gallery Ha-

in his works to depicting those who have been sidelined

rare, Johannesburg (2017), First Floor Gallery Harare,

by society, and to his portrayals of them he brings anger,

Paris (2017), Another Antipodes/urban axis, PS Art Space,

cynicism and compassion. His work also becomes an

Fremantle, Australia (2017), Right at the Equator, Depart

opportunity to see how painfully and vibrantly women’s

Foundation, Los Angeles (2017), AKAA Paris, First Floor

lives reflect the conflicts between tradition and contem-

Gallery Harare, Paris (2016), ‘I am because you are’, First

porary life in Zimbabwe, from the clash of moral codes

Floor Gallery Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe (2016), Art 16,

to the economic strain which makes children into adults

First Floor Gallery Harare, London (2016), Volta, First

all too soon. He presents people without adornment or

Floor Gallery Harare, New York (2016) and FNB Joburg

judgment – mothers, prostitutes, caregivers, breadwin-

Art Fair, First Floor Gallery Harare, Johannesburg (2016).

Wycliffe Mundopa

The Unchosen, Part 1, 2017 | Oli on canvas, fabric collage | 160 x 245 cm Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection

61

MOFFAT TAKADIWA ZIMBABWE

Copyright of the artist Courtesy of Tyburn Gallery

Moffat Takadiwa was born in 1983 in Karoi, Zimbabwe,

62

London (2015), Foreign Bodies, Whatiftheworld, Cape

and currently lives and works in Harare. He graduated

Town (2016), Local Foreign Products, Gallery Special

with a BA (Hons.) from Harare Polytechnic College in

Projects, FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, (2015)

2008. Takadiwa creates large scale sculptural pieces from

and Africa Not Reachable!, First Floor Gallery, Harare,

ordinary discarded materials – everything from computer

Zimbabwe (2012).

waste to aerosol cans, spray bottles, toothbrushes and

Selected group exhibitions include Framed in Colo­

toothpaste tubes. He weaves together these small every-

nial Lenses, Raw Spot Gallery, Rhodes University, Gra-

day objects to make impressive organic forms evocative

hamstown, South Africa (2018), Language is the Only

of the jewel-encrusted excesses of high-end materialism,

Homeland, Nest, The Hague (2018), The Eye Sees Not

or a ritualistic kind of minimalism. The artist’s choice of

Itself, Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles (2018), Right at the

materials communicates his concern with issues of con-

Equator, Depart Foundation, Malibu, USA (2018), On

sumerism, inequality, postcolonialism and the environ-

being alone and unbearable loneliness, Watou Art Festival,

ment. Part of the post-independence generation of artists

Belgium (2017) and Chinafrika, Galerie für Zeitgenös-

in Zimbabwe, Takadiwa has exhibited extensively across

sische Kunst, Leipzig (2017). Since 2008, Takadiwa has

major institutions in his country as well as internationally.

been a recipient of many awards, including the Award

Recent solo presentations include Framed in Colonial

of Attendance from The Zimbabwe Olympic Commit-

Lenses, Raw Spot Gallery, Rhodes University, Grahams-

tee (2012) and an Award of Merit and Special Mention

town, South Africa (2018), Say Hello to English, Tyburn

Prize for exhibitions at Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe

Gallery, London (2017), Foreign Objects, Tyburn Gallery,

(both 2010).

Moffat Takadiwa

Decolonized Accent, 2017 | Computer keys | 240 x 110 cm | Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection Land of Money and Honey, 2017 | Medicine caps | 180 x 125 cm | Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection

63

LIZETTE CHIRRIME MOZAMBIQU E

Photo: Mandy Rigwood

Lizette Chirrime was born in Maputo, Mozambique, in

Liberta II (Sounds of a Free Soul),Worldart Gallery, Cape

1973 and lives in Cape Town, South Africa. She creates

Town (2016), A Sinfonia da Alma Liberta, Centro Cul-

large-scale textile-driven works on canvas. They often

tural Franco-Moçambicano (CCFM), Maputo (2012),

consist of abstract forms rendered in a collage of printed

Metamorfosa de saco, Associação Moçambicano de Fo-

fabrics that are commonly used for women’s dresses on

tografie (MMF), Maputo (2012).

the continent, including the tshwe-tshwe cotton fabric

Selected group exhibitions include Reinventing Mate­

ubiquitous in South Africa. ‘These abstract forms evoke

riality, The Melrose Gallery, Johannesburg (2018), Gates

the human body and my identity-responsive practice

of Horn and Ivory, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin

where I refashion my self-image and transcend a painful

(2018), Art Africa Fair, Cape Town (2017), 35, Lizamore

upbringing that left me shattered and broken. I literally

and Associates, Johannesburg (2017), City lights…and

“re-stitched” myself together. These liberated “souls”

shadows, Stephen Welz, Johannesburg (2017), Dress code,

are depicted “dancing” on the canvas, bringing to mind

Gallery MoMo, Cape Town (2017), 1-54 Contemporary

well-dressed African women celebrating’, says Chirrime.

Art Fair, London (2016), Roots, Instituto da Cooperaçao

The interplay between textiles, abstraction and art as a

e da Língua, Maputo (2013) and Sombres Movimentos e

therapeutic and spiritual tool all make Chirrime’s art

Senhos, Centro Cultural Americano, Maputo (2012). In

unique and distinctively African. ‘My work is guided and

2017, she was a finalist of Bright Young Things Award.

influenced by water, the female, and a combination of

During 2017, she also gave performances at South South,

happiness and sadness,’ she says.

Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, (Don’t) look back, Gallery

Solo show include The Forms of the Invisible Demand, Worldart Gallery, Cape Town (2018), A Sinfonia da Alma

66

Lizette Chirrime

MoMo, Cape Town, Wattle Daub, Gallery MoMo and Cape Town and Essence Festival, Durban (2017).

Brain Child, 2018 | Mixed media | 177 x 172 cm | Courtesy of Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery

67

GONÇALO MABUNDA MOZAMBIQU E

Courtesy of Jack Bell Gallery, London

Gonçalo Mabunda was born in 1975 in Maputo, Mo-

of power, tribal symbols and traditional pieces of ethnic

zambique. In his art he draws on the collective memory

African art. They are without a doubt an ironic way of

of his country, Mozambique, which has only relative-

commenting on his childhood experience of violence and

ly recently emerged from a long and terrible civil war

absurdity and the civil war in Mozambique that isolated

(1977–1992).

his country for a long period.

In his sculpture, he works with weapons recovered in

Selected solo shows include The Messenger, Jack

1992 at the end of the sixteen-year conflict that divided

Bell Gallery, London (2018), Emperor of the Sands, Jack

the region.To AK-47s, rocket launchers, pistols and other

Bell Gallery, London (2017) and Manuscripts, Jack Bell

objects of destruction he gives anthropomorphic forms,

Gallery, London (2016). Selected group shows include

including masks. While the masks could be said to draw

The Dictionary of Evil, Gangwon International Biennale,

on the local history of traditional African art, Mabunda’s

South Korea (2018), All the World’s Futures at the 59th

work takes on a strikingly modernist edge akin to image-

Venice Biennale, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (2015),

ry by Braque and Picasso. The deactivated weapons of

Second Lives, Museum of Art and Design, New York

war carry strong political connotations, yet the beautiful

(2008) og Africa Remix, Museum Kunst Palast, Dus-

objects he creates also convey a positive reflection on

seldorf (2004) – an exhibition that travelled to Hayward

the transformative power of art and the resilience and

Gallery, London, Centre Pompidou, Paris and Mori Art

creativity of African civilian societies.

Museum, Tokyo.

Mabunda is most well known for his thrones. According to the artist, the thrones function as attributes

68

Gonçalo Mabunda

Untitled (Mask), 2011 | Decommissioned welded arms | 62 x 40 x 16 cm | Private collection, London Untitled (Mask), 2013 | Decommissioned welded arms | 26 x 46 x 21 cm | Private collection, London

69

JOËL ANDRIANOMEARISOA MADAGASCAR

Courtesy of Sabrina Amrani Gallery

72

Joël Andrianomearisoa is a Malagasy artist working and

at Centro de Arte Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain (2018), Le

living in Paris, France, and Antananarivo, Madagascar.

vent souffle sur votre coeur (curated by Annabelle Teneze),

He was born in Antananarivo in 1977 and studied at the

Château d’Assier, Assier, France (2018), Le Pli, Fundaçao

École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris.

Leal Rios, Lisbon, Portugal (2018), The Geometry of the

Joël Andrianomearisoa’s multifarious works transgress

Angle as Point of No Return to Dress the Contemporary,

the boundaries of video, fashion, design, sculpture, pho-

Primae Noctis Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland (2018), Sur

tography and installation. His works on paper and textile

un horizon infini se joue le théâtre de nos affections, Fon-

are perhaps the most indicative of his larger interests;

dation Zinsou & Musée Ouidah, Cotonou, Benin (2017).

the latter are imbued with an atmosphere that hovers

Recent group shows include DIY, Galerie Joseph

enticingly between the ephemeral and the permanent.

Paris, Contempo Arts, Paris, France (2018), Ici, la limite

Shades of black dominate his work, which often combines

du royaume est la mer (curated by Rina Ralay-Rnaivo),

sculptural elements and materials exposed to particular

Galerie Analakely, Antananarivo, Madagascar (2018) and

situations and environments.

African Metropolis. An Imaginary City, Maxxi, Rome,

For the first time, Madagascar has its own pavilion

Italy (2018). His works are in prominent public collections

at this year’s Venice Biennale, and Andrianomearisoa has

such as the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, South Africa,

been selected to represent his country. In addition to

the National Museum of African Art in Washington D.C.,

Kubatana he will also in 2019 have a solo show at Sabrina

USA, and the Studio Museum Harlem in NewYork, USA.

Amrani Gallery, Madrid, Spain. Recent solo exhibitions

He was been awarded the IV Audemars Piguet ARCO-

include No habíamos terminado de hablar sobre el amor

madrid Prize, Madrid, Spain.

Joël Andrianomearisoa

Les Horizons Complexes (de l’Amour et d’une Courtesy of the artist and Sabrina Amrani Les Horizons Complexes (de l’Amour et d’une Courtesy of the artist and Sabrina Amrani

Romance) I, 2018 | Textiles | 190 x 130 cm Gallery Romance) II, 2018 | Textiles | 190 x 130 cm Gallery

73

CYRUS KABIRU KENYA

Courtesy of SMAC Gallery

Cyrus Kabiru was born in 1984 in Nairobi, Kenya,

Lagos, SMAC Gallery, The Civic Centre, Lagos, Nigeria

where he also currently lives and works. Kabiru is best

(2018), Macho Mbadala, SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg

known for his work recycling waste objects he collects in

(2017), Pandashuka, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town (2017)

Nairobi. These cast-off materials he then refashions into

and Black Mamba, FNB Joburg Art Fair, SMAC Gallery,

various forms. For his ongoing project, C-STUNNERS,

Johannesburg (2016). Selected group exhibitions include

Kabiru creates and wears his artworks: pairs of specta-

All Things Being Equal, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary

cles. The works sit somewhere between fashion, wearable

Art Africa (MOCAA), Cape Town (2017) and Making

art, performance and one-of-a-kind commodity objects.

Africa – A Continent of Contemporary Design (curated by

C-STUNNERS are buoyant with an energy and playful-

Amelie Klein with Okwui Enwezor), Vitra Design Mu-

ness that seems to capture the sensibility and attitude of a

seum, Weil am Rhein, Germany (2015), which was later

young generation in Nairobi. They portray the aspiration

shown in Spain and USA.

to own popular culture bling; they reflect the ingenuity and

Cyrus Kabiru’s work has been acquired for numer-

resourcefulness that is characteristic of Nairobi’s young

ous public and private collections, including the Zeitz

people; the spectacles can also be regarded as a new ‘filter’,

Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), Cape

offering the wearer a fresh perspective on the world, and

Town, the permanent collection of the Studio Museum,

transforming the wearer not only in appearance but also

Harlem, New York City, the Lemaître Collection, Paris,

in frame of mind.

the Han Nefkens H+F Collection, Rotterdam, Kuona

Kabiru has had solo exhibitions, including the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India (2018), ART X

74

Cyrus Kabiru

Trust, Nairobi, Scheryn Art Fund, Cape Town and the Tiroche DeLeon Collection, Tel Aviv.

Jaffa Radio, 2019 | Steel and found objects | 50 x 47 x 20 cm | Courtesy of Serge Tiroche and Africa First Collection

75

DAWIT ABEBE ETHIOPIA

Photo: Michael Tsegaye

Dawit Abebe was born in 1978 and graduated from

Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2017), Background

the Alle School of Fine Art and Design at Addis Ababa

2, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2015), while

University with a diploma in painting, sculpture, graphics,

group exhibitions include 1-54 Contemporary African

photography and industrial design. In 2001, he founded

Arts Fair, London (2018), Imago Mundi, Salone degli

the Habesha Art Studio in his native Ethiopia, where he

Incanti, Trieste (2018), VOLTA13, Markthalle, Basel

continues to be a full-time artist-in-residence.

(2017), Everything Exists Now, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gal-

Abebe’s work mainly takes inspiration from stories,

lery, London (2017), Art Dubai, with Kristin Hjellegjerde

social and political issues, and human-technology in-

Gallery, Dubai (2017), What about Africa?, Witteveen

teractions. His drawings and paintings raise questions

Visual Art Centre, Amsterdam (2016) and Pangaea II:

about humanity, society, nature and the impact of urban

New Art from Africa and Latin America, Saatchi Gallery,

transformation on the environment. Abebe creates large

London (2015).

canvases depicting anonymous men, as seen from behind,

In 2017 he was made a Chevalier of the French Ordre

made with collage and acrylic paint. To represent nature,

des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters). His

the artist uses flies, bees, and dragonflies. He is particu-

work is held in international private and public collections,

larly interested in exploring the extent to which man is

including the Barjeel Art Foundation, the Rema Hort

destroying his natural habitat in the name of civilisation

Mann Foundation, the Frank Cohen Collection, the Car-

and is becoming more and more alienated from himself

ole Server and Oliver Frankel Collection, the Beth Rudin

and Mother Earth. Abebe has recently finished an Africa

Dewoody Collection and the Saatchi Gallery Collection.

First residency with Serge Tiroche.

In 2019, Abebe will take part in a solo show at Kristin

Solo exhibitions include Mutual Identity, Addis Fine Art Gallery, Addis Ababa (2018), Liminal in the age of

Hjellegjerde Gallery and, in addition to Kubatana, will be part of a group show at the Karachi Biennial.

Mobile-ty, 68 Projects, Berlin (2018), ‘Quo Vadis?’ at

76

Dawit Abebe

Gap 8 – Liminal in the Age of Mobility, 2018 | Acrylic and collage on canvas | 210 x 150 cm Courtesy of Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery

77

EPHREM SOLOMON ETHIOPIA

Photo: Dereje Shiferaw

78

Ephrem Solomon was born in 1983 in Addis Ababa,

of self – sometimes fractured, often obscured. He peers

Ethiopia. He observes his environment and presents socio­

under the skin to examine the core beneath.

political works using woodcut and mixed media. Central

Solomon has exhibited internationally, including

to his work are views of the city and the people that inhabit

shows in Ethiopia, Kenya, Dubai, Croatia, Australia and

the spaces around him, as well as a fictional world that

the UK. Recent solo exhibitions include Silence, Kristin

exists beyond the present – a reality that is free from the

Hjellegjerde Gallery (2018), LIFE VS TIME, Kristin

limitations of anecdotal recordings of experience.

Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2016).

Woodcut characters populate Solomon’s oeuvre.

Most recent group shows include Free Radicals, CBZ

Among the geometric shapes that fill the backgrounds,

Zuidoost, Amsterdam (2019), 1-54 Contemporary Art

and the etched lines that stretch around the figures’

Fair, London (2018), NGV Triennial, National Gallery of

mouths and foreheads, it is their gaze that draws us in.

Victoria, Melbourne (2017–18),VOLTA13, Basel (2017),

At times confrontational, at others looking off into an

A Painting Today, Stevenson, Cape Town (2017), What

unseen distance, eyes are doleful, hopeful, despairing and

about Africa?, Witteveen Visual Art Centre, Amsterdam

questioning. They brim with emotion, and time, memo-

(2016). In 2019, in addition to his contribution to Kubat­

ries and experience are carved into the faces, evident in

ana, Solomon will have a solo show at Kristin Hjellegjerde

bags under eyes, laugh lines around mouths, and worried

Gallery, Berlin. His works are held in private collections

furrows on foreheads. Solomon’s works share his thoughts

in Dubai, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and the UK,

on life, death and physical and mental boundaries. In his

including the Saatchi Collection, Tiroche Deleon Col-

scroll works on paper the portraits examine humanity

lection, The New Jersey State Museum and The National

and identity, deconstructing and re-analyzing the essence

Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Ephrem Solomon

Untitled, 2018 | Paint on paper | 3 scrolls á 1000 x 52 cm | Courtesy of Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery

79

IBRAHIM EL-SALAHI SU DAN

Courtesy of Beth De Woody, NY

Ibrahim El-Salahi, who was born in 1930 in Omdur-

Amsterdam (2017–18) and Vigo Gallery, Art Basel, Mi-

man, Sudan, is a painter and a former politician and

ami Beach, Florida, USA (2016), and A Sudanese Artist

diplomat. He is one of the foremost exponents of the huru­

in Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (2018). Recent

fiyya art movement which in the late 20 -century sought

group exhibitions include Histórias Afro-Atlânticas,

to use traditional graphic forms, especially calligraphy,

Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), Brazil (2018),

in contemporary artworks with a distinct Arab identity.

Ibrahim El-Salahi and William Turnball, Sotheby S|2

th

80

In 2013, Tate Modern held its first exhibition dedi-

Gallery, London (2017) and Protest, Museum of Mod-

cated to African modernism and traced the life and work

ern Art, New York (2017). El-Salahi’s works are held in

of El-Salahi, bringing together 100 works from across the

the collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA),

many decades of his career. He is considered one of the

New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,

most significant figures in African and Arab modernism.

Tate, London, British Museum, London, Mathaf: Arab

His work is deeply spiritual and reflective, while vigorously

Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar, National Muse-

attending to social and political injustice.

um of African Art – Smithsonian Institution, Washington

Recent solo shows include By His Will We Teach Birds

D.C., Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, National Gallery

How to Fly: Ibrahim El-Salahi in Black and White, Vi-

of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia and Newark Museum

go Gallery, London (2018), Prince Claus Fund Gallery,

in Newark, USA.

Ibrahim El-Salahi

Meditation Tree, 2018 | Lime wood | 10,5 ft (height) | Courtesy of Vigo Gallery

81

AMINA AGUEZNAY MOROCCO

Photo: Hazem Treasure

84

Amina Agueznay was born in 1963 in Casablanca, Mo-

(2019). Her collaborations include Skin (FIAF, NewYork,

rocco, where she currently lives and works. Agueznay

2011), Casablanca Green (Maison Folie, Mons, 2014),

studied architecture at the Catholic University of America,

Ankabouth (Société Générale Atrium, Casablanca, 2016),

Washington, D.C., where she obtained a bachelor’s degree

Draâ x Draâ (Ifa Gallery, Stuttgart and Berlin, 2016

in architecture in December 1989. In 2010, she was a

and 2017) and Noise (Center Hassan II of International

laureate of the prestigious Mediterranean Fashion Prize.

Relations, Assilah, 2018).

An architect and designer, Amina Agueznay designs

Since 1999, when she exhibited her work at the Institut

jewellery and meticulously structured contemporary piec-

du Monde Arabe in Paris, Amina Agueznay has regularly

es. She began researching and creating her own jewellery

shown in contemporary art exhibitions, for example in

after her return to Morocco in 1997, using traditional

Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakesh, New York, Paris, Algiers,

forms and locally-sourced materials. She now collaborates

Lille, Rotterdam, Stuttgart and Berlin. She has also par-

with master artisans in Morocco to produce small and

ticipated in various international trade shows in Zurich,

large-scale installations, demonstrating how the relation-

Basel, Vienna and Paris. She has led several workshops in

ship between art and crafts can be maintained or revived

Morocco in collaboration with the Ministry of Arts and

in our modern world. Her most recent group show is

Crafts, in France at the Domaine de Boisbuchet and in

Material Insanity, Macaal Museum, Marrakesh, Morocco

Spain at the DIMAD Center.

Amina Agueznay

Aouinates #1 (Little Eyes in Moroccan Arabic), 2016 | Natural wool, nickel silver thread and steel 200 x 100 cm | Courtesy of the artist | Photo credit: Guy Thimel Aouinates #2 (Little Eyes in Moroccan Arabic), 2016 | Natural wool, nickel silver thread and steel 200 x 100 cm | Courtesy of the artist | Photo credit: Guy Thimel

85

YASSINE BALBZIOUI MOROCCO

Photo: Sabah El Jabli

Yassine Balbzioui was born in Morocco in 1972 and lives

Half Flying, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin (2018),

and works in Marrakesh. He holds the degree of Master

GoldenWall, Gallery Shart, Casablanca, Morocco (2018),

of Fine Arts from the School of Fine Arts in Casablanca,

AKKA, with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Paris, France

Morocco (1996) and Superior National Diploma ART

(2018) and Porcellanographie: Future Traces, Iwalewahaus,

and MEDIA from the School of Fine Art in Bordeaux,

Bayreuth, Germany (2016).

France (2001).

Selected recent group shows include Dak’Art, 13th

Balbzioui’s work plays with conventions and shifts

Biennial of African Contemporary Art, Dakar, Senegal

between media. The mask is a recurrent theme that has

(2018), The Matter, Dak’Art OFF, Dakar, Senegal (2018),

always fascinated him and played a major role in his work.

Traversées, Le Comptoir des Mines Galerie, Marrakesh,

Similarly, he has been preoccupied with the way much of

Morocco (2018), 40th Moussem of Assilah, Morocco

society is based on appearances, and his works continu-

(2018), E-moi, al Maaden Museum of African Contem-

ally lead the viewer to question notions of sincerity and

porary Art, Marrakesh, Morocco (2017), Casadrawing 2,

hypocrisy, truth and lies.The human face is mostly absent

Musée de la Fondation a. Slaoui, Casablanca, Morocco

from his work, replaced by animals and birds. These of-

(2017), FIAV Festival International de vidéo, Casablanca,

ten reference bestiary literature, where the characteristics

Morocco (2017), Génération Flash, Fondation Alliances,

of animals and their similarities to human traits are the

Casablanca, Morocco (2017).

background for stories and scenes.

Balbzioui has taken part in numerous international exhibitions and residencies. Recent solo shows include

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Yassine Balbzioui

Khalima, 2016 | Acrylic on wall | 10 x 13 m | Courtesy of the artist and the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL)

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KHADIDIATOU SOW SENEGAL

Photo: Mouhamed Coulibaly

Khadidiatou Sow was born in 1978 in Brussels, Belgium,

Festival and subsequently was awarded several inter-

and lives and works in Dakar. After finishing high school,

national prizes, including Best Short Film at AMAA in

she enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Dakar and

Lagos, Grand Prix Kodjo Ebouclé (1st Prize, and three

began participating in group and individual exhibitions

other awards) at Clap Ivoire in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, César

in Dakar and in France.

Academy in Paris (2018), and FESPACO, Ougadougou,

Sow started a career as a painter, creating her own

Burkina Faso (2019). This film was also selected for a

gallery/workshop called Deffart. Since 2004, her artistic

series of festivals around the world such as Festival de

curiosity has pushed her to get involved with cinema. She

Tarifa, Spain, and Festival Afro-Carioca, Rio de Janeiro,

works as a screenwriter, costume designer and assistant

Brazil. In 2015, she wrote and directed the television series

director of short films and feature films. After training in

Je à trois. She has participated in exhibitions, including

Paris at Ateliers Varan in 2007, she made her first short

the Dakar Biennial and the Casablanca Biennial (2014),

films. Sow returned to painting in 2009 with a highly

Personal mythology, Sénégambie Voyages, Dakar, Senegal

personal new series, and participated in several group and

(2013), Allianz Biennale of Dakar, Senegal (2012), Off

solo exhibitions. She continues to nurture both passions,

the Beaten Track, Le Manège Gallery, Dakar, Senegal

painting and cinema.

(2011), DAK’ART OFF, Le Manège Gallery, Dakar,

In 2017, her short fiction film A Seat on the Plane (20 min.) was selected for Clermont Ferrand Short Film

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Khadidiatou Sow

Senegal (2006). Her work is in the collection of Dokh Dadjé, Senegal.

Une place dans l’avion / A seat on the plane, 2017 | Short film | 16’ | Courtesy of the artist

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ABDOULAYE KONATÉ MALI

Courtesy of the artist and Blain|Southern.

Photo: Peter Mallet

Abdoulaye Konaté was born in 1953 in Diré, Mali, and

Galerie 38, Casablanca, Morocco (2017), Espace Expres­

first studied painting at the Institut National des Arts in

sions, CDG, Rabat, Morocco (2017), a retrospective at

Bamako. He continued his studies at the Instituto Supe-

Arken Museum for Moderne Kunst, Denmark (2016) and

rior des Arte in Havana, Cuba, where he lived for seven

Symphonie en couleur, Blain|Southern, London (2016).

years before returning to Mali. Konaté’s work primarily

Major group shows include Pulling at Threads, Norval

takes the form of textile-based installations that explore

Foundation, South Africa (2018), Mobile Worlds or The

sociopolitical and environmental issues. He questions

Museum of our Transcultural Present, Museum für Kunst

the way in which societies and individuals, both in Mali

und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany (2018), Viva Arte

and beyond, have been affected by factors such as war,

Viva, the central exhibition in the 2017 Venice Biennale

the struggle for power, religion, globalisation, ecological

(curated by Christine Macel, chief curator of the Cen-

change and the AIDS epidemic. Employing woven and

tre Pompidou in Paris) and L’Afrique en capitale, Musée

dyed textiles native to Mali, the artist creates large-scale

Mohammed VI d’Art moderne et contemporain, Rabat,

abstract and figurative compositions. In West Africa, there

Morocco (2017).

is a tradition of using textiles as a means of commemora-

In 2008, Konaté was nominated for the Artes Mundi

tion and communication; Konaté references this tradition,

3 Prize, Cardiff. He has received several awards, includ-

balancing his approach to global political and social issues

ing the prestigious Officier de l’Ordre National du Mali

with reflections on his own local and cultural history.

(2009), Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de

Recent solo exhibitions include Textile in Art,The Red Door Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria (2018), L’étoffe des songes,

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Abdoulaye Konaté

France (2002) and the Léopold Sédar Senghor Prize at the Dak’Art Biennale in Dakar (1996).

Composition bleue orange Aly 1, 2017 | Textile | 222 x 219 cm Courtesy the artist and Blain|Southern | Photo: Jack Hems, 2017

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AMADOU SANOGO MALI

Photo: Massira Toure

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Amadou Sanogo was born in 1977 in Ségou, Mali, and

Gallery Marrakech, Morocco (2017), Fables at Kristin

graduated from the renowned Institut National des Arts

Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2016), Amadou Sanogo,

in Bamako in 2003. His academic study of fine arts paved

Chapelle des Dames Blanches, La Rochelle, France

the way for future analysis of the ethnic mores of his

(2015) and L’homme du présent at the Institut français

homeland in an aesthetically abstract and deconstructed

de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (2014).

manner. He currently lives and works in Bamako, Mali.

His many group shows include African Passions, Ca-

Sanogo paints on unstretched, repurposed cloth found

daval Pala, Evora, Portugal (2018), Find Yourself, BICIM

at his local market, paying homage to his cultural roots and

Groupe BNP Paribas, Bamako, Mali (2018), Des Hommes

transposing them into both medium and subject matter.

et Des Totems, Galerie Le Manège a Dakar, Institut

Drawing on his Malian upbringing, Sanogo delves into

français, Dakar, Senegal (2018), Afrique, Saint-Mengold

the challenging and nuanced matters of global politics,

Space, Huy, Belgium (2017), Le Havre - Dakar, Partager

journalism and the justice system.

la Memoire, Le Havre Museum, France (2017), Afrique

Sanogo is a regular contributor to the 1-54 Contem-

d’aujourd’hui, Bourg-en-Bresse, France (2017), Dakar

porary African Art Fair in London and New York having

Biennale, Senegal (2016), FIAC Officiel, with Galerie

shown there yearly since 2013 to 2018. Recent solo exhibi-

Magnin-A, Paris (2015), African Folk Art Exhibition,

tions include Amadou Sanogo à Bamako, Atelier Badialan,

Bordeaux (2015) and Bi-Mali: le Mali Contemporain,

Bamako, Mali (2017), Art Brussels, Kristin Hjellegjerde

Rotonde des arts contemporains, Galeri Nour Al Hayat,

Gallery, Brussels (2017), Les Points de l’individu, Voice

Abidjan, Ivory Coast (2015).

Amadou Sanogo

Sans Tête, 2018 | Acrylic on fabric | 200 x 160 cm | Courtesy of Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery Sans Tête, 2016 | Acrylic on fabric | 200 x 160 cm | Courtesy of Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery

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ABOUDIA IVORY COAST

Courtesy of Jack Bell Gallery, London

102

Aboudia is born in 1983 in Ivory Coast and lives and

details come into and out of focus, often only revealing

works in Abidjan. He is noted for his large-scale, heavi-

themselves after several viewings. His expression of re-

ly layered, brutally energetic paintings that combine an

volt and explosive, incendiary life in his everyday urban

innocence and spontaneity with the portrayal of a dark

environment brings to mind artists from the great Amer-

interior world. Since the Ivorian Civil War in 2011, his

ican tradition – Twombly, perhaps, in his casual-looking

urban landscapes have been haunted by trauma: armed

execution – and Dubuffet. Aboudia’s unrestrained use of

soldiers, ominous skulls and a populace hemmed in by

violent figuration is a welcome reminder of the power of

danger. Recent work continues to grapple with the hard-

paint to suggest the chaos of life.

ships of life on the streets and the social inequalities of

Selected solo shows include Djoly du Mogoba, Jack

downtown Abidjan. Often claustrophobic and oppressive,

Bell Gallery, London (2018), Gawa Dangoro, Jack Bell

his painting language achieves a careful balance between

Gallery, London (2017), Bombe Fantome, Jack Bell Gal-

pathos and aggression.While the vitality of his style recalls

lery, London (2016). Selected group shows include Dev­

Basquiat, the darker undercurrents and themes describe

il in Disguise, Jack Bell Gallery, London (2018), Royal

a battlefield straight out of Goya.

Academy Summer Show (2017), Regarding Africa: Con­

Aboudia is also a master of multi-layered imagery in

temporary Art and the Afro-Futuristic Connection, Tel

which he might reference characters from his neighbour-

Aviv Museum of Art (2016), Pangaea and Pangaea II,

hood and the local Nouchi street culture and also pay

Saatchi Gallery, London (2014 and 2015) and In All

homage to more traditional forms of Vodou. Enigmatic

Cases, Nevada Museum of Art, USA (2013).

Aboudia

Untitled, 2013 | Acrylic and mixed media on canvas | 125 x 200 cm | Courtesy of Jack Bell Gallery, London

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ARMAND BOUA IVORY COAST

Courtesy of Jack Bell Gallery, London

Armand Boua was born in 1978 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Each layer is applied and then scrubbed and stripped

The violence that followed the disputed Ivorian presi-

back, leaving abstract forms that come into and out of

dential election in late 2010 greatly influenced Boua’s

focus. Boua achieves a careful balance between his heavy

work. Political turmoil enveloped Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s

gestures and violent execution and the gentle treatment

sprawling capital, and, as the conflict escalated, many chil-

of his subject matter.

dren were separated from their families. Drawn to densely

Selected solo shows include Mogo de Poy-City, Jack

populated areas in search of work, the children found

Bell Gallery, London (2018), Clache Moi, Jack Bell

themselves marginalized and vulnerable to exploitation.

Gallery, London (2017), Les Zinzins, Jack Bell Gallery,

Life in the slums means poor sanitation, minimal access

London (2016) and Djossi a Yopougon, Jack Bell Gallery,

to safe drinking water and overcrowded schools. Leaving

London. Selected group shows include Rassemblement,

the slums to escape these conditions means facing a worse

Jack Bell Gallery, London (2018), Devil in Disguise, Jack

predicament, enduring life on the street.

Bell Gallery, London (2017), Le Penseur, Jack Bell Gal-

Boua takes the street kids of his hometown as subjects

lery, London (2016), Pangaea II: New Art From Africa

for an ongoing series of powerful portraits. ‘I wanted

and Latin America, Saatchi Gallery, London, (2015) and

to show their suffering, their way of life’, he says, ‘so

Studio Lumiere, Jack Bell Gallery, London (2015). Boua’s

that people are finally aware of this painful reality they

work is in the permanent collection of the Minneapolis

pretend not to see.’ The artist is noted for his textured

Institute of Art.

compositions, building up layers of acrylic and collage.

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Armand Boua

Untitled (diptych), 2016 | Acrylic and oil stick on cardboard | 207 x 410 cm | Courtesy of Jack Bell Gallery, London

107

SANLÉ SORY BU RKINA FASO

Autoportrait au Miroir, 1966 | Photograph | 30 x 30 cm image size, on 50 x 40 cm paper | Courtesy of Tezeta / David Hill Gallery

Sanlé Sory was born in 1943 in what was then the French

the Art Institute of Chicago show Volta Photo: Starring

colony of Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso. He started his

Sanlé Sory and the People of Bobo-Dioulasso. This signif-

photographic career in Bobo-Dioulasso in 1960, the year

icant exhibition brought together over 100 of his older

his country gained independence, and opened his own

photographs, plus objects from the Volta Photo studio,

portrait studio in the mid-1960s.Working with his Rollei-

including illustrated backdrops, studio lighting, camer-

flex twin lens medium format camera, he soon gained for

as and props. It was the first exhibition of an African

his Volta Photo a reputation as the finest studio in the city.

photographer’s work at a museum in the United States.

Sanlé Sory’s uniformly square black-and-white im-

In addition to the AIoC and Fondation Cartier, Sanlé’s

ages possess a unique creative flair that epitomises what

work is also held by MoMA, Maison Européenne de la

might be called the unsung golden age of ‘Voltaic’ pho-

Photographie, Frac Aquitaine, Fondation Zinsou, Tang

tography. His work examines the natural fusion between

Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, North Carolina

tradition and modernity. He documented the fast evolu-

Museum of Art, RISD Museum and the Frances Lehman

tion of Bobo-Dioulasso, then the cultural and economic

Loeb Art Center.

capital of Upper Volta, portraying the city’s inhabitants

David Hill Gallery and Reel Art Press co-pub-

with wit, energy and passion. In the wake of the first

lished Sory Sanlé – Volta Photo 1965–85, and Steidl

decades of African independence his work conveyed

published Volta Photo to accompany the Art Institute of

a youthful exuberance.

Chicago exhibition.

Sanlé Sory’s photographs were featured in the recent Auto Photo exhibition at Fondation Cartier, Paris, and

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Sanlé Sory

Chez Inter Music, 1976 | Photograph | 30 x 30 cm image size, on 50 x 40 cm paper | Courtesy of Tezeta / David Hill Gallery Je Vais Décoller, 1977 | Photograph | 30 x 30 cm image size, on 50 x 40 cm paper | Courtesy of Tezeta / David Hill Gallery

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