Kunsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands
2022–2023
November 19, 2022–April 09, 2023 Step into an immersive experience at the intersection of reality and fantasy worlds. In the Black Fantastic shows seductive, exuberant, and colorful works by eleven contemporary artists from the African Diaspora. With boundless imagination and technical virtuosity, the artists address racism and social inequality while imagining new worlds and possibilities inspired by folklore, myth, science fiction, spiritual tradition, and Afrofuturism. These artists reshape stories from the past and think about what the future might look like in order to challenge the societal issues of the present. Chris Ofili, for instance, sought out a new version of Homer’s Odyssey. Relocating the classical story to Trinidad, he depicts a Black Odysseus. The Greek hero finds himself entangled in the arms of his lover Calypso, who is portrayed as a mermaid occupying mysterious landscapes. The artist Hew Locke encourages you to look at commemorative statues differently: his equestrian sculptures seem to have escaped from a dystopian landscape. And in her multilayered series of self-portraits, Lina Iris Viktor combines influences from, among other things, classical mythology, West-African textiles, and Aboriginal painting. Discover new narratives and experience the fantastical power of In the Black Fantastic! The lavishly illustrated English-language catalogue, In the Black Fantastic, will accompany the exhibition. The book includes an introduction by curator Ekow Eshun, and essays by, among others, Kameelah L. Martin and Michelle D. Commander. Through highlighting the artists featured in the exhibition, the book expands on the Black Fantastic as a cultural phenomenon in music, film, and literature. Learn more at Kunsthal Rotterdam.