Ifa Galerie

Untie To Tie

On Colonial Legacies and Contemporary Societies

27 Apr - 18 May 2018

Wura-Natasha Ogunji: Sweep, 2011, performance, Abuja; © Wura-Natasha Ogunji
UNTIE TO TIE
On Colonial Legacies and Contemporary Societies
27 April – 18 May 2018

In times of silenced stories, cultural misperceptions, increasing nationalisms, discrimination and intolerance across the globe, UNTIE TO TIE invites to reflect upon the impacts of colonial legacies which have formed modern societies in the first place, and which continue to globally influence our contemporary realities and everyday lifes.

The one-year research and exhibition program 'UNTIE TO TIE – on colonial legacies and contemporary societies' explores the intersections between artistic and social discourses related to the colonial structures in contemporary realities in terms of global relatedness, urban cultures, intersectional feminisms and riots as resistance . The gallery becomes a meeting place, a physical and digital platform, to encourage encounters between stories, whether told, written, crafted or danced.

The exchange is based on three pillars: 'Art in Conversation', a public program in response to the position proposed by the artist and his exhibition. As an interception between the exhibition and public dialog a reading and hearing station will develop with the continuing chapters. The digital platform sets up a discursive forum with commissioned articles as well as podcasts, web radio and video documentations.

Reading room
The reading room 'Center of unfinished business' will provide literature on colonial legacies. Among these books are loans provided by theBerlin association Each One Teach One (EOTO). C& will invite various cultural producers to read, perform and discuss in the reading room.

Hearing station
Saout Radio explores the universe of sonic arts. 'Sonic Panoramas' is made up of a hearing station inside the gallery and diverse radio shows. Each radio show will also be broadcasted on different radio stations such as Reboot.fm or Radio Corax, but also on stations all over the world such as Radio Panik in Brussels, Radio Tsonami in Chile.

On Riots and Resistance
Chapter 4 of "Untie to Tie" examines the structural conditions of the riot through its mutational economy and anxieties related to the collective agency of the demos. The complex reality of state-led communal divides, racial violence, recent genocide, and policing controls is actively explored through the artistic and social practices.

Every Mask I Ever Loved
Chapter 3 of "Untie to Tie focuses on intersectional feminisms". While a large part of contemporary feminist discourse is mostly advocating for women's rights and equality, intersectional feminism intends to consider how overlapping identities – including race, class, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation – impact women's experiences of oppression and discrimination.

Watch your Step / Mind your Head
The positions in the second chapter are dedicated to resist the colonial legacies in urban cultures, highlighting their potential of opposing hegemonic structures and politics. The plurality of positions and narrative voices widen Eurocentric narratives and show strong counter-positions.

Kolmanskop Dream
The first chapter dedicated to global relatedness takes as a starting point the idea of the 'Tout Monde' conceived by the poet and philosopher Edouard Glissant: the world as a mosaique of individual positions combined with an accelerated interaction between languages, peoples and societies.