Gallery 1957 participates for a fourth year running at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, held at Somerset House in London, from 3 - 6 October.
On show are works from the British Ghanaian artist Godfried Donkor, and Prix Pictet nominee Joana Choumali.
Donkor presents works never-before exhibited in the UK, and created for the Dak’Art Biennial of Contemporary African Art 2018, before being exhibited at the MAXXI Rome. They depict the Senegalese national sport of traditional wrestling – a continuation of Donkor’s ongoing research into colonialism, trade and ‘the art of self-defense’.
Choumali presents her nominated works from the series Ça va aller, with six mixed-media works, uniting collage, embroidery, quilting and photomontage. Following the 13 March 2016 terrorist attacks in Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, Choumali instinctively turned to embroidery as a way to process the trauma of the event. Rather than dismiss her feelings with the favored Ivorian maxim “Ça va aller” (“It will be OK”), she chose to explore them via the gesture of slowly stitching, sometimes over several months.
Donkor is participating in 1-54’s Forum programme, speaking on ‘Valuing Research: Engaging with the Past and Working with Archives in Africa’ on Friday 4th October at 13:30. Please book your seat to attend at somersethouse.org.uk or at 1-54.com.
