Memoirs of the forgotten: Péju Alatise
“There is no encounter without ‘cultural contamination'. Culture is a living organism, in continuous mutation, which reinvents itself by passing through the phases of decline, loss of direction and renewal, as determined by its external contacts...No society of sound mind would claim the absolute purity of its culture.” - N'Gone Fall - Things Fall apart.
There is a conflict within me each time I have to repress nostalgia of my childhood visits to my hometown in Ijebu-Ode, to maintain a present state of mind. I remember the words of N'Gone and console myself that even the past is borrowed. The real conflict rises from the fear that I may lose a part of me forever. These parts of me are my roots. There is the general anxiety many traditional communities in Yoruba Land (where I come from) express from the old to the deaf ears of the young. This anxiety is for the eventual death of all their existence. I do not want to be deaf to them. I want to take my grandmother's cultural values and evolve with them. But, is nostalgia stronger than migration? Than imperialism? Than change?
Sulger-Buel Gallery cordially invites you to attend the opening reception of Memoirs of the forgotten, the latest solo exhibition by Nigerian artist Péju Alatise. The exhibition will be opened on Thursday 12 September 2019 at 18:30 and concludes on Thursday 31 October 2019.
Press Release (20 June 2019)
(For Immediate Release)
Solo Exhibition - Péju Alatise
Memoirs of the forgotten
12 September – 31 October 2019
Péju Alatise IIf Nigeria will not Wear her Own Cloth She Deserves to go Naked I 2019 I Acrylic paints on canvas granite stone cast burned wood I 180 x 550 cm
Sulger-Buel Gallery cordially invites you to attend the opening reception of Memoirs of the forgotten, a solo exhibition by Nigerian artist Péju Alatise. The exhibition will be opened in the presence of the artist on Thursday 12 September 2019 at 18:30 and concludes on Thursday 31 October 2019.
About the Exhibition:
Memoirs of the forgotten
“There is no encounter without ‘cultural contamination'. Culture is a living organism, in continuous mutation, which reinvents itself by passing through the phases of decline, loss of direction and renewal, as determined by its external contacts...No society of sound mind would claim the absolute purity of its culture.” - N'Gone Fall - Things Fall apart.
There is a conflict within me each time I have to repress nostalgia of my childhood visits to my hometown in Ijebu-Ode, to maintain a present state of mind. I remember the words of N'Gone and console myself that even the past is borrowed. The real conflict rises from the fear that I may lose a part of me forever. These parts of me are my roots. There is the general anxiety many traditional communities in Yoruba Land (where I come from) express from the old to the deaf ears of the young. This anxiety is for the eventual death of all their existence. I do not want to be deaf to them. I want to take my grandmother's cultural values and evolve with them. But, is nostalgia stronger than migration? Than imperialism? Than change?
About the Artist:
Péju Alatise
Born 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria
Lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria
As an interdisciplinary artist, architect and author of two novels, she has been practising as an independent studio artist in Nigeria since 1998. She has been consistent with her experimentation with materials and techniques as a medium to analyse various socio-political issues. Alatise has also been an influential voice on the Child Not Bride campaign in Nigeria, with her work regularly feeding into this discourse. She is also the founder of the ANAI Foundation - a non-profit foundation dedicated to the development of visual arts in Nigeria, offering sponsored training programs for artists.
Alatise is a fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and the 2017 winner of the FNB Art Prize in Johannesburg. Her work was exhibited at the 57th Venice Biennale as well as in numerous exhibitions in New York, Florence, Morocco, London and elsewhere.
Details of Venue:
Address: The Loft, 51 Surrey Row, Unit 2 La Gare, London SE1 0BZ
Telephone: +44 203 268 2101
Email: christian@sulger-buel-gallery.com
Duration: Thursday 12 September 2019 – Thursday 31 October 2019
Gallery hours during exhibitions: Monday - Friday: 10:00 - 18:00
Weekends or other times by appointment only.
About Sulger-Buel Gallery:
With over three decades experience in collecting and studying African Art, Christian Sulger-Buel started Sulger-Buel Lovell in 2014 and Sulger-Buel Gallery in 2018, both specializing in the contemporary art of Africa and its Diaspora. The team builds on half a decade ’s commercial experience in presenting dynamic, challenging and exciting art exhibitions, publications and consultancy services. The gallery provides a focus for those in London to acquaint themselves with choice work from one of the fastest developing, ground-breaking and important areas in the field today – African art. Visitors and collectors can look forward to cutting-edge and influential exhibitions at its London space as well as at international art fairs by an international team of gallerists, consultants and curators.
Media Contacts:
Christian Sulger-Buel
Director
Mobile +44 777 578 2955
christian@sulger-buel-gallery.com
(ENDS)