A groundbreaking Contemporary African Show inspiring new perspectives and understanding on the Continent from Chinese audiences
Curated by Ekow Eshun and presented by the KT Wong Foundation & Fotografiska, Shanghai
Marvellous Realism is the first and largest exhibition of African film and photography in Asia. Curated by Ekow Eshun, project-led by Lucy MacGarry, and proudly presented by Fotografiska in partnership with the KT Wong Foundation, the exhibition will open in Shanghai on 30 August 2024. Marvellous Realism is founded on an awareness of how the rich and diverse contemporary art and cultural scenes in Africa remain largely unknown to the Chinese public, in spite of the importance of long-standing economic and political relationships.
The featured artists in the exhibition invoke Africa as an innately cosmopolitan condition that is closer in kind to the philosopher Achille Mbembe’s description of the continent as ‘a body in motion born out of overlapping genealogies, at the intersections of multiple encounters with multiple elsewhere.’
Focused primarily on sub-Saharan African countries, the group exhibition is transnational in outlook and presents work by established and emerging artists. It employs the media of photography and film as a means to envisage contemporary African cultural identity as a state of ongoing possibility, in which myth, memory and movement weave together into a rich tapestry of expansively imaginative art works.
The exhibition takes its title from the scholar Kole Omotoso’s usage of the term ‘marvellous realism’ to describe the poetics and politics of African identities shaped by kaleidoscopic histories of local, regional and international cultural influences. Out of which comes a potent belief in overlapping states of seeing and being; the everyday and the extraordinary coalescing as one.
The 16 Featured Artists include:
Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou (Benin), Atong Atem (South Sudan), Justin Dingwall (South Africa), Maïmouna Guerresi (Senegal, Italy), Hassan Hajjaj (Morocco), Ayana V. Jackson (South Africa, USA), Cyrus Kabiru (Kenya), Lebohang Khanye (South Africa), Michael MacGarry (South Africa), Mohau Modisakeng (South Africa), Zanele Muholi (South Africa), Ruby Okoro (Nigeria), David Ozochukwu (Nigeria, Austria), Thania Peterson (South Africa), Micha Serraf (Zimbabwe) and Mary Sibande (South Africa).
The show will premiere in Fotografiska Shanghai – which opened in 2023 in the new emerging artist district of Suhewan right in the center of the city. Fotografiska brings to Marvellous Realism a deep knowledge of photography and its history and evolution. The partnership builds upon Fotografiska’s proud legacy of showcasing world-class, genre-defying artists of all backgrounds, in immersive environments, creating powerful and unparalleled exhibitions, spanning various photographic genres. In addition to the exhibition, which will run until 01 December 2024, a specific focus will be on celebrating African culture through cultural a programme of diverse cultural programming.
MYTH
This section of the exhibition brings together work by six artists who, each in their own way, explore notions centred on mythology, myth-making, folklore, spirituality, tradition and science fiction as central tenants of their work. In so doing, alternate realities, reimagined histories and conjectures as to possible futures are created.
Offering a visual kaleidoscope of African cultural experiences, both real and imagined, they also unpack questions of history, race and identity. By folding past, present and future together, the works on display provide an alternative to dominant narratives that have long been shaped by Eurocentric theories and philosophies, and which are largely premised on an active denial and negation of the rich histories of Africa and its people.
The artists within the Myth section convey the vast expanse of the post-colonial African experience by shifting, morphing and redrawing definitions of what African potential might look and feel like within contexts that exist outside of such Western historical definitions.
MOVEMENT
This section boldly articulates new optics on movement, migration and the visualising of Black bodies in space and time. Spotlighting the influence of personal experience in their art, these artists delve into both the abstract and practical realities of migration, immigration and the diaspora.
Their works provide a wide array of viewpoints on the challenges and opportunities that diasporic movement around the globe brings, both for individuals and the communities they become part of.
The historical patterns and generational traumas of African migration – both forced and elective – are an underlying element in much of the work of the artists included in this section.
Moving outwards from the personal to the communal and, within the context of this section, onto notions of audience – the process of engaging with art through a Black gaze offers the means to highlight Black life as far more than a reaction to white supremacy. In an era where visual media repeatedly dwells on images Black suffering, art plays a crucial role in asserting resilience and the capacity for joy beyond mere survival.
MEMORY
This section looks at the ways contemporary artists from Africa draw on collective memory to play with, challenge, and transform notions of identity.
In this section, the personal intertwines with the global as a historical phenomenon. Artists’ exploration of identity goes beyond mere reflection, seeking to comprehend how global historical events influence the present. The chosen artworks illustrate intricate blends of cultural, social, and historical influences. Central to this is the emphasis on memory as a contested and multifaceted domain.
The artists’ creations encourage viewers to contemplate the dynamics of remembering and forgetting history, and how these processes shape contemporary social and personal identities. By utilising archives, historical legacies, and personal stories, artists navigate the complexities of identity through works that are diverse, varied, and subjective.
MARVELLOUS REALISM PROJECT TEAM
The exhibition is spearheaded by a leading figure in the world of cross cultural dialogue, Lady Linda Wong Davies. Adding to her expertise are Fotografiska Shanghai alongside renowned curators Ekow Eshun and Lucy MacGarry. Eshun, the renowned British Ghanaian writer, curator and broadcaster, is celebrated for his distinctive curatorial vision, particularly in African art representation. MacGarry is co-founder of RMB Latitudes, an art fair in South Africa, and Latitudes Online – the largest online marketplace for visual art from Africa.
FOTOGRAFISKA, SHANGHAI
Fotografiska, the Contemporary Museum of Photography, Art, and Culture, was founded in Stockholm with a strong commitment to showcasing thought-provoking and cutting-edge visual art. Fotografiska champions talents from diverse backgrounds, both locally and internationally, fostering a dynamic and inclusive artistic community. Fotografiska Shanghai is in Suzhou Creek area in Shanghai Jing’an district covers 4,600 square meters overlooking the river. Fotografiska Shanghai is the fifth museum of the Fotografiska group, following Stockholm, Tallinn, New York and Berlin.
Fotografiska Shanghai offers a captivating program of carefully curated exhibitions, events, concerts, workshops, and talks with a strong focus on the promotion of Chinese and Asian artists. It is complemented by on-site lifestyle venues including a gelateria, a terrace café and bar, as well as a rooftop lounge restaurant across its four floors. The museum extends its opening hours to 11 pm, allowing visitors to explore and engage with the museum’s offerings at their own pace.
LADY LINDA WONG DAVIES AND THE KT WONG FOUNDATION
Through the KT Wong Foundation, Lady Linda Wong Davies’ life is dominated by her active and pioneering involvement in a series of cultural events. The KT Wong Foundation supported the South Africa pavilion and commissioned the music for artist Mohau Modisakeng’s video at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Lady Davies introduced the work of Yang Yong Liang, China’s leading videographer, to the National Gallery of South Africa in February 2024.
As a producer of television documentaries, Lady Davies has collaborated with the BBC’s Imagine series on the life of the superstar pianist Lang Lang “Do or Die” and also on the celebrated conductor Daniel Barenboim which was filmed during the East West Divan Orchestra’s first China tour. In addition to staging the first Benjamin Britten opera in China, Lady Davies has also brought productions from Aix en Provence International Opera Festival and the Salzburg Easter Festival to China, plus enabling young Chinese and Western musicians to engage in powerful cultural exchanges including co-producing, with La Theatre Royale de la Monnaie de Munt, Handel’s opera “Semele”. Lady Davies negotiated the challenges in staging the first ever production of Wagner’s “Parsifal’’ in China and screened the National Theatre Live’s filmed production of Danny Boyle’s “Frankenstein” to an ecstatic public in both Shanghai and Beijing, 2012. In 2021, The KT Wong Foundation co-produced, with Sky Arts, Handel’s oratorio La Resurrezione aimed at providing a lifeline to the arts scene during the pandemic providing much needed artistic and financial sustenance to musicians in the United Kingdom.