Ep 7: Kambui Olujimi —Flight and Freedom

05/08/23 • 19 min

What happens to a Black body when it stops being weighed down by forces of oppression and is freed from gravity? Can the result be Black rhapsody?

To find out, listen to Kambui Olujimi in conversation with SB15 curator Hoor Al Qasimi

At Sharjah, Olujimi installed an immersive, site-specific work called In The Dark, We Lose Our Edges (2023) comprising sculpture, sound and painting. The installation references colonial printing processes, Congolese masks and mazes with many routes, to propose the ways in which bodies might defy gravity and take flight.

Olujimi’s works are on view at The Flying Saucer till 11 June 2023.

Click here to view them online.

Press play to learn more about Olujimi’s practice, process and SB15 project as well as what makes his work speak to our current time and place.

To receive updates about the 15th Sharjah Biennial and the Sharjah Art Foundation’s year-round programme, follow us on Instagram @sharjahart.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens to a Black body when it stops being weighed down by forces of oppression and is freed from gravity? Can the result be Black rhapsody?

To find out, listen to Kambui Olujimi in conversation with SB15 curator Hoor Al Qasimi

Olujimi’s works are on view at The Flying Saucer till 11 June 2023.

Click here to view them online.

Press play to learn more about Olujimi’s practice, process and SB15 project as well as what makes his work speak to our current time and place.

To receive updates about the 15th Sharjah Biennial and the Sharjah Art Foundation’s year-round programme, follow us on Instagram @sharjahart.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Previous Episode

Ep 6: Yinka Shonibare — Pastiche and Publics

How does referencing art of the past reveal social and economic realities that affect us in the present? What does it mean when objects and symbols of historical oppression are subverted by contemporary artists and citizens?

To find out, listen to this episode recorded before Sharjah Biennial 15 opened, where Yinka Shonibare is in conversation with SB15 curator Hoor Al Qasimi.

In Sharjah, Shonibare recreated eleven of London’s public statues and painted them in Dutch wax or batik fabric patterns. The work, called Decolonial Structures (2022), is a reminder of the violent legacies of once-powerful figures memorialised like this.

All works are on view at Old Al Diwan Al Amiri till 11 June 2023.

Click here to view them online.

Press play to learn more about Shonibare’s practice, process and SB15 project as well as what makes his work speak to our current time and place.

To receive updates about the 15th Sharjah Biennial and the Sharjah Art Foundation’s year-round programme, follow us on Instagram @sharjahart.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Episode

Ep 8: Archana Hande — Labour and Technology

How can images bring to life the narratives of labour and materials which make up the story of modernity? In what ways do western ideas of development influence representation of urban life around the globe?

To find out, listen to Archana Hande in conversation with SB15 curator Hoor Al Qasimi.

At Sharjah, Archana installed two works — an interactive installation called Weaving Light at Al Hamriyah Studios and an animated film called All is Fair in Magic White at Sharjah Art Museum.

Weaving Light is a large-scale hollow cube made up of punching cards once used in 19th century handlooms in Bengaluru. It also features objects found in textile factories, a set of research materials and a film. All is Fair in Magic White comprises an animated film and a series of painted block prints. The film parodies the depiction of Mumbai as a global city by drawing attention to its inequalities and divisions.

Hande’s works are on view at Al Hamriyah Studios and Sharjah Art Museum till 11 June 2023.

Click here to view them online.

Press play to learn more about Hande’s practice, process and SB15 project as well as what makes his work speak to our current time and place.

To receive updates about the 15th Sharjah Biennial and the Sharjah Art Foundation’s year-round programme, follow us on Instagram @sharjahart.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.