“Knowledge begins where one is and all systems of repression begin by alienating the oppressed from that fact: from their own bodies, their economic, political and cultural environment.” –Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
This issue of frieze examines the relationship between culture and colonialism: from the imperial provenance of many European museum collections to rethinking the Euro-American canon; from the use of technology and the prison system to control bodies, to the resurgence of nationalist sentiments and fears. Reflecting on what it means to be “global,” the issue asks: where do we go from here? Featured artists, curators and writers include Teresa Burga, Rey Chow, Aruna D’Souza, Ângela Ferreira, Natasha Ginwala, Hou Hanru, Simon Njami, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Trinh T. Minh-ha.
Reality Is Delicate
“In every film I’ve made, the commitment to speak as a ‘knower’ has been extremely challenging.” –Trinh. T. Minh-ha
Erika Balsom talks to the radical filmmaker, composer and writer about the fetish of authenticity and the powers of nonsense.
Where do we go from here?
“Decolonization is not a temporary or trendy issue. It is a way of being, existing and surviving.” –Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung
In four essays, Rey Chow, Aruna D’Souza, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o reflect on ways to challenge colonial power relations in culture, media and society.
Also featuring:
Kaelen Wilson-Goldie discovers displacement, dissent and toothache in Lydia Ourahmane’s In the Absence of Our Mothers; Pablo Larios on the 50-year career of Teresa Burga and her groundbreaking Profile of the Peruvian Woman; Lou Cornum revisits Rebecca Belmore’s 1991 performance Ayum-ee-aawach Oomama-mowan: Speaking to Their Mother and considers its enduring importance to indigenous land claims in Canada; Paola Balla surveys artists across Australia who are disrupting the country’s colonial mindset; Jeremy Tiang delves into Singaporean identity via Ho Tzu Nyen’s One of Several Tigers; Ian Bourland encounters dissonance, precarity and studied naivety in Kemang Wa Lehulere’s I cut my skin to liberate the splinter; and ten artists, curators and writers, discuss key historical projects that have challenged Western cultural hegemony.
Columns and Reviews
Jackie Wang reflects upon the work of Cameron Rowland, prison slavery and the labour concealed in everyday commodities; Ismail Einashe meditates on the “Black Mediterranean” and the colonial undercurrents of Europe’s migrant crisis; Liz Pelly reports on how Spotify’s algorithmic music playlists are perpetuating exotifying stereotypes; Negar Azimi reflects upon the significance of Edward Said’s essay Orientalism 40 years after its publication; Suzanne Harris-Brandts looks at the politics behind recent calls to offer refugee camps world-heritage recognition; and artist Beatriz Santiago-Muñoz narrates her life in film, from public television in Puerto Rico to Lucrecia Martel’s Zama.
Plus 28 reviews from around the world, including reports on the Busan and Gwangju Biennials and SITELINES.2018, Santa Fe.
Answering our questionnaire is Bouchra Khalili, who recently had solo exhibitions at Jeu de Paume, Paris; Secession, Vienna; and MAXXI, Rome.
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frieze.com: Visit our website for daily updated content, including: exhibition reviews, art-world news and critics’ guides to current art and culture highlights from around the globe. Also, browse our “On View” platform: the definitive guide to exhibitions at leading international galleries and museums.
