Whose Map is it?
new mapping by artists
2 June – 24 July 2010
Iniva at Rivington Place
London EC2A 3BA
UK
www.iniva.org
Curators’ talk: 22 July, 6.30pm – the curators and artists in conversation
Iniva presents a group exhibition Whose Map is it? at Rivington Place which questions the socio-political structures and cultural hierarchies that inform traditional mapmaking. Nine international artists provide individual insights inscribing new, often omitted perspectives onto the map, with three new commissions by Gayle Chong Kwan, Susan Stockwell and Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa.
The two dimensional map no longer feels adequate to represent the rapidly shifting trans-national, multi-authored world that we live in. Our ideas of the map have also changed as a result of increasing access to technologies such as GPS (Global Positioning System).
Artists use film, installation, print and audio to challenge the authority of the map. Bouchra Khalili, Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa and Alexandra Handal refer to subjects of migration and displacement. Esther Polak tracks dairy distributors in Nigeria through GPS: both a nomadic tribe and the modern day transporters. Oraib Toukan’s magnetic puzzle map of a ‘new(er)’ Middle East is based on a map proposed by an ex-US army Lieutenant.
Milena Bonilla’s dislocated series of poster maps present a new landscape view of the Americas and Otobong Nkanga’s drawings reveal the ecological transformations of the oil rich Delta region in Nigeria. Gayle Chong Kwan’s new commission incorporates a sound installation giving dance instructions and a map which traces the migration of Rumba from Cuba to the international ballroom.
Susan Stockwell’s new site-specific commission, River of Blood, for the vast window of Rivington Place, is made up of an intricate network of red tributaries to form the iconic image of the Thames river map. She draws parallels between city roads and human arteries, reflecting the north-south London divide that the capital’s citizens frequently highlight.
Initiated by Iniva with Associate Curator Christine Takengny and Education Curator Teresa Cisneros.
Iniva, Rivington Place, London EC2A 3BA
Admission free
www.iniva.org
