Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent Mori Art Museum, Tokyo 27 May (Sat) – 31 August (Thu) 2006

The largest exhibition of contemporary African art ever Contemporary African art has never before been shown on such a large scale either in Japan or anywhere else. And, in all likelihood, it never will again. For this exhibition represents a turning point in the history of viewing African art: the point when perspectives shift from being based on a stereotype of Africa as dark, mysterious and homogenous, to a more accurate reflection of the continent’s reality as a collection of scores of individual countries, peoples and traditions. Featuring 84 artists (83 groups) from 25 countries, spanning the length and breadth of the African continent, Africa Remix shows this reality in all its richness and diversity. Samuel Fosso, Series Tati: Self-portrait 2: The chief who sold Africa to the colonists 1997 Type C Print. Centre Pompidou-MNAM-CCI, Paris Mori Art Museum Public Relations Dept. | 8 March 2006 tel: +81-3-6406-6111 | [email protected] | www.mori.art.museum

Jane Alexander, African Adventure 1999-2002 Mixed media installation. Courtesy: artist

This ambitious exhibition is the result of collaboration between Chief Curator Simon Njami as well as Mori Art Museum Director David Elliott and a team of curators from the museum kunst palast, Düsseldorf, the Hayward Gallery, London, and the Centre Pompidou, Paris. The Mori Art Museum is the last of these museums to host the exhibition, and the only venue in Asia where it will be seen. After Japan the exhibition will tour to Moderna Museet in Sweden and also to the Johannesburg Art Gallery in South Africa. Africa Remix’s spectrum of 140 works covers painting, drawing, sculpture, assemblage, multi-part installation, photography, video and also, as special features, furniture design and music. All the works shown here have been created within the last 10 years. A number of them were commissioned specially. The exhibition asks fundamental questions about both the art of Africa and our reactions to it. What is contemporary African Art today? How can we describe it and show it? Is there any coherent definition of what it might be? Is the reality close to the stereotype? What will African art become in the future? The exhibition does not set out to give answers but, by focusing on the power of the works themselves, expands our consciousness of both Africa and ourselves by raising these questions. In the Japanese context this exhibition provides a rare and valuable encounter with contemporary African art and culture that will show previously unsuspected levels of innovation and creativity. A vast array of goods and events are being planned to coincide with the exhibition. A comprehensive illustrated catalog will be published in English and Japanese versions. A companion music CD, featuring some of the biggest names in contemporary African music, will be released through Victor. Meanwhile, in addition to the Museum’s own Public Programs, the French-Japanese Institute of Tokyo will hold “An African Summer,” a series of Africa-related events, including a film program. Finally, in June, leading Senegalese film director Sembène Ousmane’s

award winning Moolaadé will be screened at Iwanami Hall.

Mori Art Museum Public Relations Dept. | 8 March 2006 tel: +81-3-6406-6111 | [email protected] | www.mori.art.museum

Organizers: Exhibition planned by:

In Association with: Supported by: Grants received from:

Corporate Sponsors:

Mori Art Museum; The Yomiuri Shimbun Mori Art Museum; museum-kunst-palast; Hayward Gallery; Centre Pompidou-MNAM-CCI, Paris; Musée national d'art moderne The Ministry of Foreign Affairs; The African Diplomatic Group; l'Ambassade de France au Japon Institut Franco-Japonais de Tokyo The Japan Foundation; Association Française d'Action Artistique, Ministère des Affaires Étrangères (AFAA); Ministry of the Flemish Community; HIVOS (International Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries); Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development; Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie Mitsui & Co., Ltd.; Kajima Corporation; agnès b.

Chief Curator: Curatorial Team:

Simon Njami David Elliott, Director, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; JeanHubert Martin, General Director, museum kunst palast, Düsseldorf; Marie-Laure Bernadac, Senior Curator for Contemporary Art, Musée de Louvre, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris, and Curator, Centre Pompidou, Paris; Roger Malbert, Senior Curator, Hayward Gallery, London

Catalog:

300 pages in Japanese, 224 pages in English

Mori Art Museum:

Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-6150 Japan Tel: 03-5777-8600 (Hello Dial) www.mori.art.museum 10:00 - 22:00 (Tues: 10:00 - 17:00) *Admission until 30 minutes before closing * Open until 22:00 on 21 March and 2 May. Adult: ¥1,500 University/highschool students: ¥1,000 Children (4 years to junior highschool students): ¥500 *Ticket valid for Tokyo City View observation deck. Africa Remix images are available to download from the museum website: http://www.mori.art.museum/pr/e Mr. Corkill, Ms. Takahashi, Ms. Miura, Ms. Inuzuka Tel: +81-3-6406-6111 Fax: +81-3-6406-9351 [email protected] www.mori.art.museum

Hours:

Admission:

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Press Contact Details: E-mail: Website:

Mori Art Museum Public Relations Dept. | 8 March 2006 tel: +81-3-6406-6111 | [email protected] | www.mori.art.museum

A series of events will take place to coincide with the exhibition in Japan: Public Programs at the Mori Art Museum A wide variety of symposiums and lectures are planned to coincide with the exhibition. The first will be “What is African About African Art?” a symposium featuring artists and curators involved with the show. Symposium "What is African About African Art?" * please book in advance. English and Japanese sign-language interpretation Date: May 28, (Sun) 13:00-17:00 Panelists: Simon Njami (Guest curator, "Africa Remix"), Kawaguchi Yukiya (Assistant Professor, National Museum of Ethnology), David Elliott (Director, Mori Art Museum) and others Venue: Roppongi Academy Hills 49, Auditorium Admission: General 1000yen, Students & Members 500yen An African Summer at the French-Japanese Institute of Tokyo To coincide with "Africa Remix", the French-Japanese Institute of Tokyo is proud to present "An African Summer," a series of events that explores the many cultural facets of the African continent. "An African Summer" will be launched on 3 June with a screening at the Institute of Moolaadé, Sembène Ousmane’s latest movie and winner of the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. (The film’s Japanese release is on 17 June at Iwanami Hall). Other highlights include a film program, African music events and a public discussion with artists who are participating in Africa Remix. Details will be announced shortly on the Institute’s web site. Venue/Enquiries: French-Japanese Institute of Tokyo 15 Ichigaya-funagawara-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8415 Tel: 03-5261-3933; www.institut.jp Dates: June, July, and August Enquiries regarding Moolaadé: Alciné térran, Tel: 03-5467-3730 www.alcine-terran.com Africa Remix CD Release To coincide with "Africa Remix", Victor Entertainment is releasing a compilation CD, featuring music by some of Africa’s most respected artists from all over the continent. The CD will be on sale at record stores throughout Japan and at the Museum Shop. Enquiries: Aya Takahashi, Victor Entertainment, Inc., Tel: 03-5467-6668 On Sale: 24 May, 2006 VICP-63408 Price: ¥2,520

Mori Art Museum Public Relations Dept. | 8 March 2006 tel: +81-3-6406-6111 | [email protected] | www.mori.art.museum

Exhibition Concept

Fatimah Tuggar, Money & Matter: Currency & Constraints 2002 Inkjet print on vinyl. 37x76cm. Courtesy: Binta Zarah Studios, Indianapolis

This richly diverse exhibition includes the works of internationally renowned artists such as the Documenta exhibitors David Goldblatt, Bodys Isek Kingelez, William Kentridge, Pascale Marthine Tayou and Yinka Shonibare, who was recently nominated for the Turner Prize. Ranking on the same level as these famous artists, the exhibition also includes the works of several self-taught artists, such as Fernando Alvim, Titos (Fernando A. Mabote) and Abu-Bakarr Mansaray. Two of the oldest artists at the exhibition, both born in 1923, are Frédéric BrulyBouabré and Jackson Hlungwani. The youngest artist is N’Dilo Mutima, born in 1978. The exhibition title “Remix” is intended to show that the present situation of African culture is hybrid, complex, multifaceted and reflects globalization. Many of the artists travel extensively; some have several places of residence and commute between Africa and other continents. This is one of the reasons why the exhibition does not distinguish between artists living in Africa and those in the “Diaspora.” “Africa Remix” focuses on the “presence of the present,” and therefore on the link between art and life as reflected in each work – conceptually, aesthetically and formally. Thematically, the exhibition is divided into three sections: Identity & History, Body & Soul, and City & Land.

Mori Art Museum Public Relations Dept. | 8 March 2006 tel: +81-3-6406-6111 | [email protected] | www.mori.art.museum

Wangechi Mutu

In killing fields sweet butterfly ascend 2003 Collage / ink, polyester film et al., 107.5×85.5cm Collection of Jeanne and Nicolas Rohatyn, Courtesy: Susanne Vielmetter, Los Angeles Projects

Aimé Ntakiyica WIR 2003 Type C-print, 104.5×157.5cm, Courtesy: artist

In the Identity & History section, artists reflect on cultural incongruities as well as on a historical understanding of nationhood. One artist, Aimé Ntakiyica shows himself in a variety of satirical self-portraits in European national costumes. Body & Soul focuses on the body as a matrix of artistic discourse and on gender. Fragmented and at times bizarrely assembled bodies emerge as expressions of suppressed anxiety and cultural incongruity in work presented by such artists as Tracy Rose, Loulou Chérinet, and Wangechi Mutu. These works serve to question culturally conditioned gender-specific stereotypes, an aim which is expressed particularly clearly in Richard Onyango’s paintings of powerful women and puny men. In the next section City & Land, a range of architectural fantasies express urban utopias in a variety of forms, as in the work of Bodys Isek Kingelez and Allan deSouza. Several complex installations and paintings depict the city as a place of both freedom and failure. This last section comprises poetic and at times melancholy snapshots of “African” everyday life, created by numerous photographic artists whose cameras open up a kaleidoscopic images of reality, while others, such as El Anatsui, Dilomprizulike and Willie Bester, focus on a series of complex recycling processes that transform waste and rubbish into a new and surprising beauty.

Mori Art Museum Public Relations Dept. | 8 March 2006 tel: +81-3-6406-6111 | [email protected] | www.mori.art.museum

Biography of Simon Njami Simon Njami is Chief Curator of Africa Remix. A writer, curator and novelist, he was the co-founder and chief editor of Paris-based journal, Revue Noire, and has published six books and numerous texts on African contemporary art. He is a Visiting Professor at University of San Diego, UCSD (Arts, Photography, Literature) and Chief Curator of Bamako Photography Festival / Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie de Bamako. He has curated a number of exhibitions including L’Afrique par elle-même, Paris, Washington, London and tour (1998-99), El Tiempo de Africa, Las Palmas (2000) and Madrid (2001), Fragments of Africa, ARCO, Madrid (2004), and the African section of the Sao Paulo Biennale (2004).

Artists Featured in Africa Remix: Identity & History Jane ALEXANDER (South Africa) Fernando ALVIM (Angola) Lara BALADI (Egypt / Lebanon) Yto BARRADA (Morocco) Willie BESTER (South Africa) Andries BOTHA (South Africa) Zoulikha BOUABDELLA (Algeria) Soly CISSÉ (Senegal) Marlene DUMAS (South Africa) Ymane FAKHIR (Morocco) Mounir FATMI (Morocco) Samuel FOSSO (Cameroon) Meschac GABA (Benin) William KENTRIDGE (South Africa) Michèle MAGEMA (Democratic Republic of Congo) Abu Bakarr MANSARAY (Sierra Leone) Hassan MUSA (Sudan) Ingrid MWANGI (Kenya) Moataz NASR (Egypt) Aimé NTAKIYICA (Burundi) Zineb SEDIRA (Algeria) Yinka SHONIBARE (Nigeria) Fatimah TUGGAR (Nigeria)

Body & Soul Ghada AMER (Egypt) Joël ANDRIANOMEARISOA (Madagascar) Hicham BENOHOUD (Morocco) Bili BIDJOCKA (Cameroon) Frédéric BRULY BOUABRÉ (Ivory Coast) Paulo CAPELA (Angola) Loulou CHERINET (Ethiopia) Omar D. (Algeria) Cheik DIALLO (Mali) Jackson HLUNGWANI (South Africa) Abdel Ghany KENAWY and Amal KENAWY (Egypt) Abdoulaye KONATÉ (Mali) Goddy LEYE (Cameroon) Georges LILANGA DI NYAMA (Tanzania) Franck K. LUNDANGI (Angola) Myriam MIHINDOU (Gabon) N'Dilo MUTIMA (Angola) Wangechi MUTU (Kenya) Shady EL NOSHOKATY (Egypt) Richard ONYANGO (Kenya) OWUSU-ANKOMAH (Ghana) Eileen PERRIER (Ghana) Tracey ROSE (South Africa) Benyounès SEMTATI (Morocco) Cyprien TOKOUDAGBA (Benin) Ernest WEANGAÏ (Central African Republic)

City & Land Akinbode AKINBIYI (Nigeria) EL ANATSUI (Ghana) Rui ASSUBUJI (Mozambique) Luís BASTO (Mozambique) Mohamed EL BAZ (Morocco) Berry BICKLE (Zimbabwe) Wim BOTHA (South Africa) Chéri CHERIN (Democratic Republic of Congo) Tracey DERRICK (South Africa) Dilomprizulike (Nigeria) Balthazar FAYE (Senegal) Jellel GASTELI (Tunisia) David GOLDBLATT (South Africa) Romuald HAZOUMÉ (Benin) Moshekwa LANGA (South Africa) Ananias LEKI DAGO (Ivory Coast) Titos (Mozambique) Gonçalo MABUNDA (Mozambique) Julie MEHRETU (Ethiopia) Santu MOFOKENG (South Africa) Zwelethu MTHETHWA (South Africa) Sabah NAIM (Egypt) Otobong NKANGA (Nigeria) Antonio OLE (Angola) Rodney PLACE (South Africa) PUME (Democratic Republic of Congo) Chéri SAMBA (Democratic Republic of Congo) Sérgio SANTIMANO (Mozambique) Allan deSOUZA (Kenya) Pascale Marthine TAYOU (Cameroon) Patrice Felix TCHICAYA (Democratic Republic of Congo) Guy TILLIM (South Africa) Barthélémy TOGUO (Cameroon)

Mori Art Museum Public Relations Dept. | 8 March 2006 tel: +81-3-6406-6111 | [email protected] | www.mori.art.museum