ART AND AFROPOLITANISM
“No human being can exist in complete independence from a nation or a culture. Yet… while individuals might be geographically bound within a nation, while they might be located within a given culture, their imaginations are not; they can transcend boundaries”.
Megan Sickmueller: Understanding Afropolitanism
Ibrahim Mahama
A Grain of Wheat,1918–45
2015–18
Mixed media
Dimensions variable
It is impossible to conceive global reality without the de-definition of diasporic identities or the multiplicity of existences in diverse geographic spaces. It is not a new phenomenon but has become increasingly visible, transforming all spheres of human realization, including art.
El Anatsui
Elephant in The Room
2022
63.3 x 105 in
Wall hanging
Photo courtesy Efie Gallery
https://elanatsui.art/artworks/el-anatsui-elephant-in-the-room-2022
In this context, centering on identities and knowing their expressions generates the need to form emotional territories that are continuously contaminated along their displacements and, at the same time, give shape to new expressions grouped together under words that expand themselves in their meaning.
Pascale Marthine Tayou
Arbre à Palabre
2023
157.78 in x 88.5 in x 23.6 in
Plastic World
June 22 – October 1, 2023. Exhibition view
© Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, 2023
Photo: Norbert Miguletz
https://www.galleriacontinua.com/special-projects/plastic-world-202
Hence, the emergence of Afropolitanism as a new territory into which a new generation of African artists is inserted, making their inheritances and practices visible in the global reality. To practice Afropolitanism — as Mbembe writes — is to recognize the common humanity of those people one meets, since they are all part of this world and its intricate histories.
Yinka Shonibare
Hybrid Mask (Ndeemba)
2023
30.7 in x 19.6 in x 19.6 in
Wood, acrylic paint, raffia and brass
Photo: Stephen White & Co.
https://yinkashonibare.com/artwork/hybrid-mask-ndeemba-2023/
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