LONDON, April 2 — Joined by the jigsaw shape of their respective coastlines, the African and South American continents are prominent in “Pangaea,” represented by 16 artists pulled from the once-twinned landmasses.
The exhibition presents itself in response to a “desire by artists and their audiences to discover fresh influences,” and one which has “inspired the recent preoccupation of museums to broaden their Eurocentric collections.”
Hence the diversity and innovation of the “Pangaea” exhibit, which seeks to reflect the heritage of colonial rule, urban expansion, diaspora, migration and national upheaval.
Hence Colombian artist Rafael Gómezbarros and his installation of oversized ants, “Casa Tomada,” which references a story by Argentinian author Julio Cortázar and represents decades of internal migration, the emergent patterns from Brazilian painter Antonio Malta Campos, and the studies in change of Frenchman-in-Dakar Vincent Michea.
Like the giant ants, Ibrahim Mahama's work is another well-suited to display in public places, the Ghanaian working with old jute sacks — used by the cocoa and charcoal industries — to construct expansive, large-scale walls of textured material.
Also among the artists on show are José Lerma, a Spaniard who draws inspiration from Puerto Rican history, and Dillon Marsh, the South African whose giant birds' nests envelop towering telegraph poles.
“Pangaea: New Art from Africa and Latin America” runs April 2 to August 31 at the Saatchi Gallery, Sloane Square, London.
View photographic stills from the exhibit at this link. — AFP-Relaxnews
