OTOBONG NKANGA – Crumbling Through Powdery Air
Portikus (Kunsthalle), Frankfurt.
16. Jul 2015 – 06. Sep 2015
About:
Cornered Year, 2015.
Starting in July 2015, the Portikus in Frankfurt will present a solo exhibition of the internationally acclaimed artist Otobong Nkanga (*1974 in Kano, Nigeria) and publish a corresponding monograph in cooperation with Chimurenga Magazine, based in Cape Town. As a guest professor of the Städelschule, Otobong Nkanga will allow her art students to participate in developing the exhibition.
From Where It Leaves, 2015.
Otobong Nkanga’s works frequently highlight the consumption and cultural value of natural resources, such as minerals and cultivated plants. She places the various functions and stories behind these raw materials in relation to her own personal background, her memories and her body. For the exhibition at the Portikus, Nkanga wishes to continue exploring the ambivalent meanings of brilliance. Her project will take her to Namibia where she plans to investigate the cultural history of the minerals mica, azurite and malachite in the context of colonialisation. Using film and audio recordings documenting the changes to the landscape caused by strip-mining, she will develop videos, performances and installations which make reference to the industry of seduction, for mica is an important component in the production of cosmetics and make-up. The result will demonstrate once again that the exploitation of the former colonies like German West Africa serve foremost to appease the European desire for wealth and “bling”.
Crumbling, 2015.
Artistic directors: Philippe Pirotte (BE), Fabian Schöneich (DE)
Participants: Otobong Nkanga (NG) and students of the Städelschule
(text website museum)
In Pursuit of Bling, 2014 (this work was presented in the Berlin Biennial)
Portikus
Alte Brücke 2/Maininsel
60594 Frankfurt am Main
www.portikus.de