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Trepanations
Cesar Cornejo, Conversation Piece #8Cesar Cornejo, Trepanation 2, 2016'In Cornejo’s work, meaning and material, source and symbolism, cleave more tightly than any cement could hope to.'
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Mami Wata
Sahara Longe, Conversation Piece #7Sahara Longe, Mami Wata, 2021.'Everyone has a different story – my mum thinks of Mami Wata as albino with long blonde hair, and lots of people think she has a fish's tail… She represents money, healing – she does loads of different things,’ says Sahara Longe. ‘But I like the story of fertility. If a woman couldn't have children, she would go and pray to Mami Wata who would give her a baby.’
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We have found in the ashes what we have lost in the fire
Rushdi Anwar, Conversation Piece #6Rushdi Anwar, We have found in the ashes what we have lost in the fire, 2018A small town, north-east of Mosul, Bashiqa was once known for its onion pickles and olive trees. With a population spanning Kurdish Yazidi, Shabak, Assyrian and Arab Muslim, there are records of a diverse community at the site from the 13th century; undoubtedly, Bashiqa’s history stretches back further still, and it remained a tourist destination for Iraqis into the 21st century.
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Wole Lagunju
Gelede PortraitsWole Lagunju, Gelede II - Satire and Parody, 2013One might say that Yoruba is among the most powerful answers to the legacies of European empire. As the history of empire coalesced the world around a few European languages and the Judeo Christian religions, the potency and charisma of Yoruba beliefs, hermeneutics, aesthetics and theology has sustained its hold upon people across the African diaspora. And continues to grow. Wole Languju’s striking portraits are a testimony to this.
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The Woman in the Background: Odedina and Manet at VOMA
By Abe OdedinaÉdouard Manet, Olympia, 1863There are two women in Edouard Manet's infamous Olympia. We know a lot about one; reclining, pert and centre stage, is Victorine Meurent. As for the second woman, a servant standing behind Meurent/Olympia to present her with flowers, we know only her first name: Laure. Laure is black.
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Ni yn unig
Anya Paintsil, Conversation Piece #5Ni yn unig, Anya Paintsil, 2020“Ni yn unig” – only us. Titled in Welsh, Anya Paintsil’s first language, Ni yn unig is based on a childhood photograph. The artist and her sister, aged circa seven and five respectively, have been rendered in textiles: not only how they were (“She was quiet; I was loud. I was such an angry kid, and she was this duckling behind me,” says Paintsil), but how they felt themselves to be.
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A boy with a toy
Mário Macilau, 2018A boy with a toy, Mário Macilau, 2018A boy stands centered in the frame. The eyes of his lightly painted face are closed. The foliage behind him, out of focus, situates him out of any identifiable place.
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The Elephant Never Tires Carrying Its Tusks
Tiffanie Delune, 2020The Elephant Never Tires Carrying Its Tusks, Tiffanie Delune, 2020Delune’s excitement in staging encounters – setting, medium, sentiment – is palpable. It’s contagious, too; how could anyone resist travel-by-painting in a world whose borders have never felt so stark?
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Searching for Libertalia
Shiraz Bayjoo, 2019Screenshot: Searching for Libertalia, Shiraz Bayjoo. 2019.In Bayjoo’s Searching for Libertalia, ‘searching’ – with all its connotations of irresolution, journeying and betweenness – remains the operative word.
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Warm Leatherette
Abe OdedinaAbe Odedina, Warm Leatherette, 2019. Acrylic on plywood, 122 x122 cmAbe Odedina’s Warm Leatherette is an uncanny tableau, familiar and alien at once. On its surface – and when it comes to painting, what else is there? – we observe a girl. Sofa. Table, LP. A bottle, and two glasses.