Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent

The exhibition started in Dusseldolf, then London, Paris, and now Tokyo, traveling to Stockholm afterwards. Despite its nature of traveling exhibition, the exhibition appears to have been expanding. Its composition and captions in the space show the consistent strong approach by Mori Museum, who has been working on this project from the early stage together with the museum kunst palast, the Hayward Gallery, and Centre Pompidou. I also heard for this Tokyo exhibition, artists were encouraged to show their favourite pieces, which made everybody happy.

I was indeed keen on this exhibition first time I saw it. I am so happy to see it again that keeps as much powerful energy as before. This is my first voice to the Tokyo exhibition. However, since Japan has not remotely related with Africa compared to European countries like Germany, England, or France, lots of irony and context might possibly drop off once in a while from both the exhibition itself and each piece of work. Their longtime relationship between European industrialised countries and African countries flows under the African contemporary art. There is truth in the fact that Africa is explained based on European rules called contemporary art.

They have political problems, environmental problems, and wars in Africa.
They have vivid cascades of colours as strong as their skin, sound and rhythm deeply drumed into their bodies, and a dry humour to laugh the superficially festive world away, in Africa.

“Africa” evokes a sense of romanticism to most ears. While any roots from those industrialised countries like Europe or North America or Japan sound so boring and bland, we see all the dramatic, strong rooty concepts worth being talked about in the background of Africa. Yeah they have elephants, giraffes, and lions too!

The conceived longing towards something totally different, exotic, and romantic has driven Europeans to consume, of course orientalism and now even South Americanism typified by Brazilian culture. Their next target and interest is towards Africa.
It’s been natural the history of contemporary art has developed with the european standard ever sincce the very beginning. Anything exotic put into this context always takes the risk of easily ending up being shown as unfamiliar traditional culture to Europe. However, this exhibition is well designed with well amount of quantity and quality: Quantity as the 84 different artists from 25 countries in Africa, and quality as that of the curation purposefully showing both African artists who were educated in Europe (including those second mixed generation whose parents are a white and a black) and the genuine African artists who are completely uninfluenced by the european context, which brings a discussion about the distance between Africa and Europe, the comparison of those two from the essential point of view.
“Africa Remix” catches your eyes, is extremely refreshing and strong with massive amount of work, although at the same time I have to say, nothing would defy your prediction more than the super-futuristic view from 80’s which wouldn’t profoundly surprise your eyes anymore. Everything is under control as “the otherness and thus shocking to Europe” which you would expect to experience in this kind of event.

It makes me feel excited. Now we have passed this period of time where everybody admires and respects any exotism or romanticism, now as everything is put on the table (as well as Japonism, Chinism, Arabianism, Brazilianism, Africanism, whatsoever), what as roots would lead the next creative scene? That’s the most intriguing thing to think about. As you could see this second generation already in this exhibition, the next creation would so much represent the coexistence of different things in more concrete ways. This feeling popped up in my mind through this exhibition. In fact, this is also a big chance for us whose roots are considered to be bland. It left me the strong feeling of the next generation whose roots originally include coexistence.
I seek for a new set of rules throughout this exhibition that guides us to a new generation. Evidently, things are happening in sequence, and we are living in 21st century!