Δ LUKIM GEN ­- A RETROSPECTIVE. Art and Independence in Papua New Guinea

In parallel to the exhibition A LABOUR OF LOVE, which showcases works by black South African artists from the 1980s, the Weltkulturen Museum is now looking retrospectively at a particular era in the art of Papua New Guinea. Just like the South African works in the main building, the prints, drawings and paintings on display in the Weltkulturen Labor also represent one of the key areas in the museum’s contemporary art collection.

While the South African artists had to struggle against apartheid and repression, the artists in Papua New Guinea in the 1960s and 1970s were driven by a particular mood of political optimism. As self-government became established in the country, a debate broke out over how to evolve an all-embracing cultural policy. In preparation for independence from Australia in 1975, attempts were made to define a national culture. With over one thousand local cultures in Papua New Guinea, the aim was to provide common points of identification for all cultural groups and yet, at the same time, leave enough space for each local culture to be cherished and maintained.

The patterns used in the country’s many different regions for painting and decorating bamboo containers, armbands, shields or masks provided an inspiration for graphic works that played a major role in shaping the image of modern art in Papua New Guinea.

At the Weltkulturen Labor visitors are invited to look for traces: In setting prints, drawings, and metal panels in relation to selected objects and artefacts from the museum’s New Guinea collection aesthetic correspondences become visible.

In the Green Room early prints are reminders of the emergence of the so called “outsider art” in the capital Port Moresby. They highlight an art style developed from traditional ornamentation which – also widely used in national book production – even today is generally regarded as a “typical” Papua New Guinea design.

The exhibition was curated by Dr. Eva Ch. Raabe (Curator Oceania and Acting Director, Weltkulturen Museum).

Weltkulturen Labor and Green Room, Schaumainkai 37
 

schließen

Δ A LABOUR OF LOVE

A LABOUR OF LOVE presents more than 150 works from the Weltkulturen Museum’s collection, produced in the 1980s by black South African artists, together with twenty new artistic productions by Sam Nhlengethwa, Gabi Ngcobo and four young artists from Johannesburg, specifically created for this exhibition.

The exhibition A LABOUR OF LOVE focusses on a key part of the Weltkulturen Museum’s contemporary art collection: 600 works from South Africa which the museum acquired in 1986. These works were all produced by black artists, including internationally renowned figures such as Peter Clarke, Lionel Davis, David Koloane and Sam Nhlengethwa.

A LABOUR OF LOVE comes 28 years after the first exhibition of this collection was held in Frankfurt. It re-examines a selection of 150 works inspired by very different readings of the idea of love – prints, paintings, sculptures and to date unpublished archival materials reflect on the theme from interpersonal relations to the passion and commitment which influenced both the creation of the works and the history of the collection’s acquisition.

The exhibition also integrates a contemporary perspective on this special collection through ten new works produced by Gabi Ngcobo and four young South African artists, who have dealt with the collection and its specific history since mid-July 2014. In this process of artistic reappraisal, the students have responded to the collection by creating new prints and videos. This perspective is further expanded by works created in the Weltkulturen Labor by Sam Nhlengethwa, during a residency in July 2015. Accordingly to the museum’s concept, the new works will be added to the collection.

The exhibition is curated by Gabi Ngcobo (artist, curator, educator at the Wits School of Arts Johannesburg and co-curator of the 32nd Bienal de São Paulo) and Dr. Yvette Mutumba (curator Africa Weltkulturen Museum). Participating artists: Sam Nhlengethwa (artist, Johannesburg), Gabi Ngcobo as well as Wits School of Arts students Chad Cordeiro, Michelle Monareng, Nathaniel Sheppard and Matshelane Xhakaza.

To get to the short film on A LABOUR OF LOVE, click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1_V0milC2o

The accompanying catalogue not only includes new articles by Yvette Mutumba, Gabi Ngcobo, Ciraj Rassool, Same Mdluli and Neo Muyanga, but also interviews with, among others, David Koloane, Peter Clarke, Bongi Dhlomo-Mautloa and Lionel Davis as well as extensive image material. Published in German and English by Kerber Verlag.

Behind the scenes:
https://instagram.com/weltkulturen.museum/
https://facebook.com/pages/Weltkulturen-Museum/334257603302617

Exhibition dates
3rd December 2015 – 24th July 2016

This exhibition will be travelling to South Africa.

€7 / reduced €3.50
Tue-Sun, 11am-6pm and Wed, 11am-8pm
Weltkulturen Museum, Schaumainkai 29

 

Funded by the TURN Fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation

With kind support:

Media Partner:

Cultural Partner:

With kind support of the exhibition opening:

schließen