Through a fusion of bold artistic activism and interactive installations, Nottingham Contemporary's latest triad of exhibitions provides a visual playground for us to re-examine the importance of imagination and innocence...
Kirawa, constructed by artist Kresiah Mukwazhi, ties art to activism with an array of petticoat fabric paintings that act as subversive visual reflections on gender based discrimination.
A particularly striking piece, The Unrest of Ali (2023), seeks to showcase the emotional experiences of female sex workers that Mukwazhi garnered inspiration from in the suburbs of Harare, Zimbabwe. Rich in dimension, it depicts feminine figures, bodies clouded by garish splashes of paints and faces obstructed by a collage of red bra straps hanging loosely. The collection of half-portrait, half-political pieces transcend past the visual beauty of art and present a uniquely shadowed and private expression of the female form, one that is in equal parts emotionally intimate and spiritually empowering.
The collection of half-portrait, half-political pieces transcend past the visual beauty of art
Alongside Mukwazhi’s paintings is a shrine constructed of fabrics, plants, stones and animal print; a real homage to nature. In contemporary art spaces there is an increasing aesthetic call toward the digital; an appreciation of the advancement of art. But Mukwazhi’s sacred site, made entirely from, and in appreciation of, natural materials acts as a further piece of protest art. It draws upon the sacred sphere of Zimbabwean communities whilst simultaneously utilising and showcasing nature as a viable playground for artistic expression.
As we move into the second project, Holding a Heart in Artifice, artist Abbas Zahed finds metaphorical beauty inside the cross-section of medicinal environments and contemporary art scenes. Zahedi, who had previously trained as a medic, has curated an installation held up by several red steel buttresses that span the height of ceiling to floor. Conceptually, they function like cardiac stents. These bright red stents are juxtaposed with the white sterility of a dead space that has only the gentle hum of machinery as audio stimulus. This casts light on the current cultural paradox within contemporary art spaces of the withering connection between modern art and humanity. Art itself, as highlighted by all three artists, is entirely constructed from human interconnection and it is through Zahedi’s structural minimalism we are invited to embrace; reflection, conversation, and imagination.
Art itself, as highlighted by all three artists, is entirely constructed from human interconnection
The third and final exhibition is called Emergency and Emergence. Curated by artist Eva Kotakova, it infuses the conversational tone of the previous pieces with the innocence of interaction. Overhead is a tannoy with the voice of a young girl telling the tale of Prague Zoo's first ever Giraffe; Lenka. The tale details the sad reality of an animal forced into captivity, but when told through the voice of the schoolchild, it is enclosed in a childlike innocence that contemporary culture is entirely devoid of. Utilising the innocence of the informer uses the tools of purity and imagination and moulds an objectively depressive tale into a piece of art that works to inspire us to re-examine our relationship to, culture, news and innocence.
The innocence of the informer uses the tools of purity and imagination and moulds an objectively depressive tale into a piece of art that works to inspire us
This motif is exemplified by the physical components of the exhibition. Firstly, there is a large cardboard play theatre with space for a small audience to sit and visitors are invited to play with the props and perform puppet shows. Kotakova's installation provides both children and adults space to connect with the innocence of imagination. Secondly, stretching down a large corridor plastered with the doodles and paintings from primary school children, we reach a large sculpture of a deconstructed giraffe that acts not only as a highly impressive visual spectacle but also as something that ties the moral aspects of Kotakova’s exhibition together.
In a culture that often finds innocence and imagination superseded by the advancement in technology and the buzz of capitalist monotony, Nottingham Contemporary's new triad of exhibitions all work together to realign us with the importance of shared experience, imagination and protest art.
Abbas Zahedi: Holding a Heart in Artifice, Eva Koťátková: How many giraffes are in the air we breathe? and Kresiah Mukwazhi: Kirawa is showing at Nottingham Contemporary till 3 September 2023
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