We Are History

16 Oct 2021-6 Feb 2022

The Lovers II, 2008, Photograph. Credit: © DACS Zineb Sedira, Courtesy of the artist and kamel mennour, Paris / London

Overview

This October, Somerset House presents We Are History, a new group exhibition offering a different perspective on humanity's impact on the planet by tracing the complex interrelations between today’s climate crisis and legacies of colonialism.

The exhibition, which opens to coincide with the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, spotlights the works of nine artists with personal connections to countries in the Caribbean, South America and Africa, bringing to the fore the perspectives of their communities, not as an afterthought in climate debates, but as the source of resonant ideas and imagery related to social and environmental justice.

Curated by writer Ekow Eshun , and showcasing photography, prints, textile, installation and video, We Are History presents works which are moving, lyrical and thought-provoking, capturing nature as a place of both beauty and fragility. Featuring Alberta Whittle, Allora & Calzadilla, Carolina Caycedo , Louis Henderson, Malala Andrialavidrazana, Otobong Nkanga, Zineb Sedira and a newly commissioned work by multidisciplinary artist Shiraz Bayjoo, the exhibition interrogates the environmental issues facing the southern hemisphere, by looking to the past and drawing important insight from the cultural practices and knowledge systems of indigenous peoples.

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