I’m always on the lookout for exhibitions that show art from around the world, that offer an insight into another time, another place.
The Pangaea exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery does exactly that. Bringing together the work of contemporary artists from Africa and South America, the show aims to draw connections and similarities between the two continents that were once, a very long time ago, part of the same land mass. That’s right, at one point, Africa and South America were joined together in a ‘super-continent’ known as – you guessed it – Pangaea.
Rafael Gomezbarros
It might seem a bit crude, exhibiting the works of artists from completely different parts of the world together in the same space and, perhaps, forcing visitors to find links between the two. Are there any links? What should we be looking for? But I was, however, very impressed with the way in which the Saatchi has tastefully curated it.
Instead of hanging works from Africa and South America side by side and allowing visitors to judge them on face value which, let’s be honest, is never a good idea, each artist has their own room (sometimes there are two or three artists in a room, but they are always from the same continent). Visitors are led through the maze (and yes, it is a bit of a maze) of rooms, alternating between work from Africa and South America.
Aboudia
I know this makes it sound like a disparate, confusing experience but, in fact, the space around each artist actually encourages visitors to explore the pieces on an individual level, as if in a private show. Then, as you wander from room to room, you can start to pick up on the subtle nuances and thematic similarities.
Because, as is the nature of art, it is not the aesthetic values of the pieces that muster connections, but the similarity in themes that run through the exhibition. The works themselves are, in a sense, merely visual aids for the stories brought forward from Africa and South America, predominantly featuring ideologies associated with politics and society. Whether it’s the way in which Rafael Gomezbarros’ crawling mass of giant ants are reflected abstractly in Aboudia’s struggle with his native Ivory Coast’s political situation, forcing him to flee, to the way that Vincent Michea’s pop culture pieces hold a close thematic resemblance to Jose Carlos Martinat’s multimedia installations inspired by the streets of Lima and Mexico City, there are evident narratives that connect the two continents.
Mainly, though, this is an exhibition about life. Only the lives it is documenting were once, a very long time ago, connected physically as well as thematically.
Boris Nzebo
Jose Lerma
Dillon Marsh
Have you been to see the Pangaea exhibition yet? If not, would you like to? Join the conversation in the comments below!
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