CAN IMAGES INFLUENCE OUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD? Yinka Shonibare’s artistic practice between colonial memory and counter-narrative
By Alessia D’Introno World cartography, as it is still understood and represented today, can be seen as one of the earliest and most influential examples of the Eurocentric view of the world and history. Published in 1569 by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator, the Mercator projection forms the basis of the most widespread representation of […]
Under the Umbrella of Power: Archive, Legacy, and Sovereignty. Interview with Artist Rita Mawuena Benissan
By Alessia D’Introno “I always say like I want people whenever they leave an exhibition or they look at my work, I want them to feel that they’re a king or a queen mother for that day. So, they feel royal for that day. You know, a lot of times we might not have anything […]
At the Venice Biennale, Caroline Gueye’s Architectures of Vision for the Senegal Pavilion
by Alessia D’Introno Observing an artwork from every angle, only partially, or from a certain distance places us in relation to a perception that inevitably changes. The availability of our gaze, the point from which we observe, the light, time, and space all play a major role in shaping our interpretation.This concept is not so […]
The colonial archive in the photography of Délio Jasse
By Alessia D’Introno In his studio, Délio Jasse shows the repertoire of colonial-era images he collects as an essential part of his work. In this interview, the artist talks about his approach to photography and his participation in the last Dak’Art Contemporary African Art Biennial with the Souvenir d’Italie group exhibition. -Where did the idea […]
Behind paradigms. Interview with Elvira Vannini
By Alessia D’Introno In a focused and attentive reflection on contemporary art and its post-colonial paradigms, Elvira Vannini, art critic and historian, disseminates an all-feminist, ecological and anti-imperialist art. Through her magazine Hot Potatoes, she formulates a new critique. In her case, the terms feminism and de-colonialism do not imply a passing fad, but the […]
Shaping the fire. The Pavilion of the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Venice Biennale
By Alessia D’Introno The high quality of international contributions from Africa to the 61st International Exhibition of the Venice Biennale is already evident in the very act of presenting, within a global institution, their own ways of relating, identifying, and speaking about themselves. Among the plausible explanations for continuing to maintain national pavilions in an […]
Amoako Boafo at Palazzo Grimani: The Power of Blackness in Portraiture
By Alessia D’Introno Amoako Boafo’s portraiture is striking for its colour, the intensity of his subjects’ gazes, and their self-assurance. At the Palazzo Grimani Museum, this time, it is above all the textures of the garments he paints that surprise us. The Ghanaian artist, in Italy for the first time with It Doesn’t Have to […]
In Minor Keys – The Venice Biennale Curated by Koyo Kouoh: From the Arsenale to the Giardini
By Alessia D’Introno The 61st International Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, curated by Koyo Kouoh, took place against the backdrop of a turbulent and unsettled global historical landscape. The protests against the opening of certain national pavilions, such as Russia’s, carried out by Pussy Riot during the opening ceremony, and the mass resignation of the […]
Interview with Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh: blaxTARLINES KUMASI and Its Radical Artistic Practice
By Alessia D’Introno In recent years, the work of blaxTARLINES KUMASI has emerged as one of the most significant practices at the intersection of artistic experimentation, emancipation, and social responsibility. The collective is a paradigm that challenges the Eurocentric hierarchies of contemporary art, proposing models for education, production, and sharing. Conceived and launched within KNUST, […]
Interview with Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi: Performance Queer Resistance and the Future of pIAR
By Alessia D’Introno Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, also known as crazinisT artisT is one of the most daring and revolutionary voices in the Ghanaian contemporary art scene. With the pronouns sHit if not She, she subverts the contradictions of language and denounces how the homophobic colonial legacy has reinforced the perception of queer people as disgusting.An internationally renowned […]