The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2019 - Issue 26

Jada Brookes attended the 7th 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair held at Somer- set House which showcased African artists from 45 galleries around the world. bite art exhibition 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair L ondon’s prestigious Somerset House was once again the venue for the 1-54 Contemporary Af- rican Art Fair, now in its seventh year, featuring artistic works from 45 leading galleries in 19 countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. Covering the East, West, and South wings of the 18th-century neoclassical building, the art fair which ran from the 3rd to 6th of October displayed nine solo exhibitions as well as several rooms of artists’ work from the many galleries present. Out of the 45 galleries, 16 of these were from Africa including Addis Fine Art, Circle Art Gallery, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Gallery 1957, Guns & Rain, Kalash- nikovv Gallery, Loft Art Gallery, and Selma Feriani Gallery. The nine solo exhibitions consisted of Louisa Marajo, Alexandria Smith, Godfried Donkor, Prin- ston Nnanna, Anton Kannemeyer, Chourouk Hriech, Michaela Younge, Ibrahim El Salahi, and Mohau Modisakeng from a variety of galleries across the world. “Last year, 1-54 welcomed over 18,000 people to Som- erset House and has helped to build a growing global interest in contemporary African art,” commented Founding Director of 1-54, Touria El Glaoui. “We are especially proud of expanding our programme across three continents in London, New York, and more re- cently in Marrakech.” “We are delighted with the exciting line-up of galleries for our seventh edition in London and are honoured to be dedicating the 1-54 FORUM programme to the in- spirational Bisi Silva and showcasing the amazing work of Mary Sibande as part of our Special Projects. It is set to be our best fair yet and we look forward to welcom- ing new faces and old friends to Somerset House in Oc- tober.” One of the most amazing works at the fair was Mary Sibande’s I Came Apart at the Seams. In her first solo ex- hibition in the UK, Sibande, one of South African’s most prominent contemporary artists, presented a series of striking photographic and sculptural works exploring the power of imagined narratives in challenging the ste- reotypical depiction of women and shaping identities in South Africa today. Her life-sized sculptures were both intriguing and mind-blowing. The solo exhibition follows the transformative journey of the artist’s avatar Sophie, and features sculptural fig- ures and photographs modelled on the artist herself. It also incorporates two of her other works: Long Live the Dead Queen (2009-2013) and The Purple Shall Govern (2013-2017). Together, these series captured the three stages of Sophie’s transformation, from her beginnings as a domestic housemaid to her myriad empowered characters as she transcends through histories of op- pression. The presentation was extraordinary because each sculp-

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