Back in 2018, pianist Rebeca Omordia released a solo recital CD called ‘Ekele’, which showcased African art music – that is, works by African composers who had studied and were influenced by Western classical repertoire. To me – and no doubt many others who came across the album – it was an ear-opening journey into…
Category: African history
Liner notes: Tavares Strachan, ‘There is Light Somewhere’, Hayward Gallery, London
This stunning exhibition educates as it enthrals. Strachan’s themes are serious and consistent: he focuses our attention on black people and their achievements that have been sidelined or obscured by our overwhelmingly white understanding – and re-telling – of history. He navigates this over-arching topic through a wide range of disciplines and media: sculpture, paint,…
Narrative threads: ‘Africa Fashion’, V&A, London
This was one of the most purely exciting exhibitions I’ve seen in a long time. So vibrant and visually assured, it stimulates one’s sight in the same way a complex gourmet meal explodes in multiple flavours across the taste buds. Seasoned visitors to the V&A might not be surprised by this. Quick note for those…
Motion captures: William Kentridge at the Royal Academy of Arts, London
As I write, there is just under a fortnight left – including two weekends – to see the Royal Academy’s retrospective of South African artist William Kentridge. I urge you to go if you can. Kentridge also directs and stages opera, and it’s thanks to English National Opera (‘ENO’) that I first encountered his work….
Into the Night at the Barbican
Shadow Theatre at Le Chat Noir, Paris. I always look forward to the Barbican Gallery’s exhibitions. Theme-based with enticing titles, they always manage to capture the imagination. The last show I covered there, entitled Art, Intimacy and the Avant-Garde (see here LOVE IN A CREATIVE CLIMATE) in January of this year, had been riveting. With the…
LOST HISTORY RECLAIMED: William Kentridge’s ‘The Head and the Load’
‘…shadow-play, defunct documentation, African dance, early jazz, Dada-ist insanity and historical fact…’
ARTMUSELONDON 