The Counterspace Of Pop Culture In Zaire blends the worlds of augmented and virtual reality with visual language into a “multi-sensory digital art installation.” The show makes use of universal symbols, images extracted from culture and theatrical sound to give to its viewers a near mystical experience. The works on display become a commentary on spectacle, identity politics and popular culture.
The Counterspace Of Pop Culture In Zaire creates an opportunity to rethinking histories of African power that have been cast aside, ideas surrounding representation as well as global inclusivity in humanity’s story. Presented as a set of enquiries, the body of work is critical to the omission and assumption based depictions of African history. Magolide Collective (Mzoxolo Mayongo & Adilson De Olivera) pose a challenge to historic depictions that are monolithic. It is their intention to create new ways of knowledge sharing. Working with a number of collaborators they embody a variety of characters throughout the course of the exhibition. Making use of mixed reality their elaborate work acts as a way to think about lived histories and cultural happenings that become permanently fixed in the digital realm via digital technologies.
Performance based work and video art are brought together speaking synonymously through the amalgamation of photography and 2D animation. This manner of working breaks boundaries in mixed-reality media and allows for new forms of exploration. The show thus seeks to unravel and critique the influence of Western art history on our imaginations when we think about a true African history. The relevance of this exhibition is paramount as it reminds us of the gaping holes that exist and need to be addressed in order to have a history that speaks full spectrum.
The show opens on the 27 July 2019 at TMRW gallery.
