There and Back 2006

There & Back: Africa

            Curated by Danielle Tilkin, “There & Back: Africa” was exhibited at La Casa Encendida in Madrid, Spain from March 31^st – June 11^th, 2006. It sought to compare and contrast works of artists who have emigrated and those who have stayed in the continent. The exhibition reevaluates what it means to be “African.”

            One of the exhibition’s major themes was how colonization trapped and stunted Africa’s growth. The catalogue highlights a quote from Boniface Mongo-Mboussa in Time for History which identifies a key problem the exhibition sought to answer. “Contemporary Africa is the fruit of colonization […] Colonization made us aware of this geographic entity we call Africa when it carved up the continent in Berlin in 1885.” Furthermore, the exhibition explores the dichotomy between past and present, tradition and contemporaneity during colonial, independence, and postcolonial periods. It looks at how different regions of Africa influence artists and the ongoing effects of globalization.

            There & Back attempted to rationalize Africa visually across borders and regions. In the end, it pushed a unifying image representing the new Africa and the whole new set of challenges it now faced post-colonialism.

The exhibition focuses on several generations of artists who have gained international recognition following the Magiciens de la Terre exhibition in 1989. Artists include William Kentridge, Viyé Diba, Mustapha Dimé, Abdoulaye Konaté, Touhami Ennadre, Miguel Petchkovsky, Romuald Hazoumé, Mbongeni Richman Buthelezi, Ammar Bouras, Soly Cissé, Emeka Udemba, Modou Dieng, Moshekwa Langa, Frances Goodman, Marie Blanche Ouedraogo, Otobong Nkanga, Djibril Sy.

-Jeffrey Lee