Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
20 May 2021
A Walk is shown in the framework of the exhibition Mapping Along – Mapping Margins of Conflict. In A Walk, Nigerian artist Rahima Gambo assembles video footage that she has shot in three Nigerian cities.
Gambo narrates in voice-over associations and reflections on these places. After having spent some time abroad, the walks are a review and re-approach to the cities. With a handheld video camera she scans the cityscapes and – when moving – holds it mostly downward over sidewalks, grass or sandy streets, stopping now and then to focus on objects such as clusters of debris or plants arranged like sculptures. The voice is recorded in close up, but mixed with the atmospheric sound of the video; it appears as the inner voice of the artist as she walks and forms an interior landscape. The parallel movements of the walks in the cityscapes and in her mind explore their reflections and intersections and trace a floating mapping of these spaces.
Rahima Gambo studied social sciences in Manchester and London and Journalism in New York City. After working as a photojournalist she moved back to Abuja, Nigeria and began her artistic career with videos that are embedded in spatial installations including drawings, photographs, found objects and plants.
Laura Horelli was born in Helsinki, grew up partly in Nairobi and London and lives in Berlin since 2001. She is a visual artist and filmmaker interested in representations and mediations of the past taking a micro-historical approach. Her work has been shown at numerous exhibitions and festivals internationally since the late 1990s.
Video screening A Walk by Rahima Gambo (13 min, 2019) and subsequent discussion of the artist with Christian Hanussek and Laura Horelli. The event will be held in English. Please register for the hybrid Zoom event: mappingalong@metrozones.info