KAPWANI KIWANGA
Rumors that Maji was a lie…
Curator: Adriana Alves
19. August - 16. October 2016.
In the vault, 3,14 is proud to present the installation Rumours that Maji was a lie... (2014)* of the Canadian artist Kapwani Kiwanga. Influenced by her background in anthropology and comparative religion, the artist develops intricate art projects assuming the role of a researcher. Her work often intends to reframe something familiar, or to shed lights on something unknown. Even though Kiwanga’s methodology and protocols have been incorporated from social sciences, her material sources range from academic papers to myths and literature. By meticulously blending facts with fiction; past events with the present and with future visions, not only does she create a multiplicity of layers within the individual projects, but also, in return, she manages to undermine the authority of science and of hegemonic discourses.
The installation Rumours that Maji was a lie... focuses on the voids in the living memory of the Maji-Maji war, which was one of the earliest large uprisings in Africa and was incited by a traditional healer named Kinjiketile. Attracting a large number of followers against colonial domination, Kinjiketile used traditional elements in order to bridge different cultural groups.
*Rumours that Maji was a lie... (2014) was first commissioned by Jeu de Paume in Paris.
Kapwani Kiwanga was born in Hamilton, Canada (1978) and is based in Paris. Her work has been shown at renowned institutions and exhibitions, such as Centre Georges Pompidou, Glasgow Center of Contemporary Art, Museum of Modern Art de Dublin, Armory Show – NY, Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporánea de Almeria (ES), Salt Beyoglu in Istanbul, South London Gallery (UK), Jeu de Paume in Paris, Kassel Documentary Film Festival.
[www.kapwanikiwanga.org]
3,14 Live:
Saturday, September 17th, 15:00
3,14 will be hosting the first chapter in the performance trilogy AFROGALACTICA. In this remarkable work, the artist poses as an anthropologist from the future, reflecting on Afrofuturism, hybrid genders and on the development of the future Space Agency of the United States of Africa. Factual events and archival material along with science fiction are drawn to make projections about the future.