The multi-chapter exhibition traces links between Asia and Africa, looking at their increased political, economic and cultural importance.
Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-Navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora at Gropius Bau is a multi-chapter exhibition that brings together works by contemporary artists, filmmakers, musicians, writers and researchers. Combining new commissions with existing projects, the exhibition traces links between the Asian and African regions, manifesting overlays and diasporic transfers between two areas of increased global political, economic and cultural importance in the 21st century. The Indian Ocean emerges as a communal horizon that reveals shades of cultural, linguistic, political and historical passage from ancient times to the present.
The exhibition parts, showing concurrently at the Gropius Bau and SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin, have been composed in resonance. While moving between these venues, visitors can experience fluid associations that open up like the tug and swell of tides. The exhibition follows the first chapter at Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, revealing a journey of material, textual and aural histories and connecting them via this ocean to the city of Berlin. Curated by Natasha Ginwala and Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung with Michelangelo Corsaro.
Here are some impressions of the exhibition at Gropius Bau Berlin.
Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-Navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Installation view, Gropius Bau (2023).
Adama Delphine Fawundu, Sopdet Illuminates, 2017. Archival pigment on 100% cotton fiber paper, 23 x 34 1/2 inch. Courtesy of the artist.
Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-Navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora, John Njenga Karugia, Installation view, Gropius Bau (2023).
Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-Navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora, Rossella Biscotti, Jack Beng-Thi, Sim Chi Yin, Installation view, Gropius Bau (2023).
Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-Navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora, Rosella Biscotti, Installation view, Gropius Bau (2023).
Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-Navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora, Shiraz Bayjoo, Installation view, Gropius Bau (2023).
Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-Navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora, Shiraz Bayjoo, Installation view, Gropius Bau (2023).
Jennifer Tee, Tampan Sessile Beings, Sacred Shrine, 2022. Tulip Petal Collage, Piezography on 315 grams museum etching paper (framed), 170 x 165 cm. Courtesy: the artist and Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam.
Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-Navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora, Sim Chi Yin, Dominic Sansoni, Installation view, Gropius Bau (2023).
Sim Chi Yin, Shifting Sands, 2017–ongoing. Installation: ten photographic prints, one wallpaper, poetry and texts, research material, VR installation, Photography / installation dimensions variable. Courtesy: the artist and Zilberman, Istanbul/Berlin.
Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-Navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora, Oscar Murillo, Installation view, Gropius Bau (2023).
Lavanya Mani, Spectral Objects (From the Book of Wonders), 2019. Natural Dyes and Hand Embroidery on Cotton, Fabric, visual art / textile painting, 183 x 305 cm (Triptych). Photo: Anil Rane, courtesy: the artist and Chemould Prescott.
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