UNTIL SUNDAY 7/1
VAT. Guillem de Castro, 118
Otobong Nkanga he discreetly got rid of his sandals under the table from which he presented his exhibition at the IVAM. Stepping on the ground with the soles of his feet, he explained the importance of the earth in his work., to feel the space, and how everything is interconnected. The journey of Longing for southern light It begins with drawings of absolutely recognizable iconography, with surreal and almost diagrammatic airs, that show these interconnections and the obsolescence of bodies incapable of responding to the speed that capital demands. The drawings are the cover letter of an exhibition that contains poems, textiles and sculptures from the last two decades of work by a Nigerian artist very given to performance and the action, proof of this is the social economy project Carved to flow that explores alternative care systems and brings geographical connections to the table, the economic histories and emotional entanglements involved in the creation of everyday products. That is to say, systems of production and distribution of wealth. It started as a soap creation laboratory at the contemporary art exhibition documenta 14 (in Athens) and the profits obtained from the sale (and Kassel) were used to finance the activities of an artistic space installed in the Greek capital. At the IVAM these soaps form small towers that emulate the soap tanks of Aleppo (Syria) y Nablus (West Bank). Another performance, It is designed for cities with the sea, es Constellation to appease, where Nkanga takes a piece to the beach (that of El Saler in this case) and let it interact with the sea and its elements. The plants and objects collected show the traces of the geological and social history of this little piece of the Mediterranean Sea that is calm and silent above, but custodian of many stories beneath. Solid Maneuvers is a poeticized translation of the devastated topography that mining exploitation leaves in Namibia and the central space of the gallery is intended for a site specific with ceramic sculptures, drawings and poems that make up a landscape from Nkanga's research in Valencia. He has traveled to our city six times longing for light in recent years to prepare for this exhibition and the sun never came out., until opening day. S.M.
