CROSS/ING: Time, Space, Movement

SS/IHC TIME, SP. CE, MOVEMEHT roger prager C urated by Olu Oguibe, the conceptual underpinn ing of "CHOSS / ING : T ime Space Movement" is expressed in the following excerpt from his catalogue essay: M ovement is the hum an condition; at nomoment in history has the truth of this been clearerthan it is today . Whether manifested in geographic/demographic flux, constantly exacerbated by politica l and economic forces, or in the uulisation of the hitherto unimaginablepossibilities of inf ormation technology and tile mechanics of virtuality, movement, transition, transformation, relocation, transfiguration , and subj ection to enormousf luidities of location and identity are the imperatives of existence mIJ!II Jo urnal of Contemporary African Art our age...African artists not only reflect the 'inter- (anality' of our millenial age in their work, they also live it through the internationality of their practices and domiciles. The most obvious"cro ssing" examined in the show is that of physical boundaries, such as oceans, by both arti sts and art works. Perh aps to emphasize the extent to which such cro ssings have become a way of life for artists embedded in a "globali zed" art world , Kendell Gee rs, a Sou th African art ist who lives and works in Johannesbu rg, arranged the packing crates, packin g materials, tool s, trash and oth er artifacts associated with cro ssing into an untitled installation, Title W ithh eld (CROSS/INC), 1997. Gender boundaries are a major issue for Marcia Kure , a young Nigerian artistwho lives and works in Nsukka. Kure is noted for her powerful drawings, which combine sweeping and swirling strokes and bold shapes with delicate symbolic and decorative motifs dr awn from various African systems of writing, wall and body decoration, and textiles. In Woman as Wa rrior (1997), Kure brings us face to face with a woman who is clearly performing a man's role. She wears the head, neck and torso decorations and carries the spears and shield of the Maasai warrior. T he lower portion of this work is taken up with animal motifs . In Woman as Dancer, the woman, wearing a traditional masquerade headdress of the Bamana people in Mali, again appropriates a role th at is alm ost un iver sally r eser ved for m en in Afr ica. In oth er w or k s such as W oman Suckling Her Male Child, W oman Giving Birth, an d W oman at a W edding, Ku r e explor es th e con flictin g em ot ion s of w o m e n e n gage d in t h ose act ion s w h ich are expect ed of t h em an d th us taken for gr an t ed, yet are pr ofou n d ly per son al an d filled wit h pow er fu l pr ivat e pleasur es an d pain s. In No to Torture (1982- 83), H ou r ia Niat i decon st r u ct s th e Or ien t alist view of Nor t h Afr ican w o m e n em b od ied in Eu ge n e Delacr oix' s W omen of Algiers. Niat i surr ou n ds a p h ot ogr ap h of th is pain t in g wit h four of h er ow n lar ge- scale pain t in gs. H e r w o m e n are depict ed in br igh t color s, n aked, b ou n d , an d w it h faces scr at ch ed out, as if to say: "H e r e is w h at you are really u p t o." O lad ele Ba m gb o y e ' s st r ikin g, bu t en igmat ic, p h ot ogr ap h Panel #4 fr om the series Das Lichthaus (1989) pr esen t s u s wit h a b e d r oom , a n u de black m ale, b ack to u s, legs spr ead, h an ds again st th e...