This group exhibition at the Koppel Hive Project, Holborn Viaduct, is presented by Kanibi Projects, an art advisory and curatorial organisation with a focus on artists from Africa and the diaspora.
The 12 artists, working in painting, photography, video and sculpture, use diverse visual language to express themes around race and the complexities of blackness.
The exhibition’s title comes from Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book Between the World and Me, where he writes: “I recall that even then I had not yet begun to imagine the perils that tangle us.” He speaks about the subjugation of the black body.
The artists: Julius Agbaje, Adesina Adegboyega, Odinakachi Okoroafor, Anne Adams, Chiderah Bosah, Austin Uzor, Chukwudubem Ukaigwe, Iyunade Judah, Hannah Uzor, Tobi Alexandra Falade, Paul Majek, Kehinde Awofeso
REVIEWER’S VIEW:
From the subtext of the floating, dance-like gestures in Chukwudubem Ukaigwe’s IGBA video projection, to the religious iconography of Julius Agbaje’s stained glass-inspired Familiar Crossroads, there’s a distinct and layered voice in every piece yet a thematic chorus beyond the disparate forms.
The ‘untangling’ speaks of understanding race through visual dialogue. The burst of colour in the upper gallery is a subterfuge to draw you into this discussion. But on closer inspection, the thematically layered tones and applications represent much more than the decorative or visually pleasing. And the Koppel Project Hive is the ideal space. One feels the hallowed white wall experience associated with contemporary galleries, less stuffy in this two-floor gallery on Holborn Viaduct.
REVIEWER’S PICK:
Julius Agbaje’s powerful Familiar Crossroads (2021) acrylic on canvas shows two headless figures in a finger touching pose that brings to mind Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. One carries a cross, the other an axe. His other work outside of this exhibition also repeat this headless feature. Stained glass media is another running theme in his work.
WHAT? – Untangling The Perils That Tangle Us group exhibition
WHERE? – Koppel Project Hive, 26-30 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2AT (Nearest Tube: Chancery Lane)
WHEN? – 15th November – 17th December 2021, Mon to Fri 10am – 6pm
WHY? – Discover rising African art stars like Julius Agbaje, Adegboyega Adesina, Odinakachi Kingsley Okoroafor
slipstreammediauk.com 