Maliyamungu Gift Muhande: Kobikisa
The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) presents Kobikisa, an exhibition of new work by Maliyamungu Gift Muhande, recipient of The New York Community Trust鈥檚 Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund residency at ISCP. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raised there and in South Africa, and now based in New York City, Muhande investigates her identity, Blackness, and diasporic history through diverse media including film, painting, drawing, sculpture, performance, and social practice. Translated as 鈥渢o heal鈥� in Lingala, Kobikisa features an immersive video installation and a series of large-scale works on paper that create a space of healing and self-empowerment in ISCP鈥檚 first floor project space. The presentation is curated by Lauren Wolchik.
The centerpiece, or altar, of the exhibition is an intimate video projection of Muhande receiving acupuncture and massage treatments at the Life Wellness Center in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. She considers the treatments to be collaborative acts of artmaking, charged by shared ancestral experiences: Black women exchanging Black tenderness in order to heal one another. Muhande鈥檚 documentation of the sessions grew out of a desire to see her 鈥淏lack flesh, Black body, Black physique being held tenderly by another鈥攁nd not just any other, but another Black woman鈥� on screen. Muhande aims to normalize and celebrate images of Black trust, tenderness, and healing.
The film installation is experienced in a counterclockwise sequence, in opposition to the direction enslaved African people were forced to walk around the 鈥淭ree of Oblivion鈥� in Benin before boarding transatlantic ships. Colonial slave traders enacted this ritual to try to make their captives forget their origins. The 鈥淭ree of Oblivion鈥� is further alluded to in Muhande鈥檚 Body Prints, works on paper mounted to wood panels that stand against the gallery walls, surrounding the video installation. These terracotta-colored tempera paintings are created through literal self-embraces and reference an ancestral Congolese ceremony that uses clay. Muhande further defines her own figure with meandering ink lines drawn counterclockwise, a meditative practice that recalls tree rings and records the passing of time.
Recommended for you
The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) presents Kobikisa, an exhibition of new work by Maliyamungu Gift Muhande, recipient of The New York Community Trust鈥檚 Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund residency at ISCP. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raised there and in South Africa, and now based in New York City, Muhande investigates her identity, Blackness, and diasporic history through diverse media including film, painting, drawing, sculpture, performance, and social practice. Translated as 鈥渢o heal鈥� in Lingala, Kobikisa features an immersive video installation and a series of large-scale works on paper that create a space of healing and self-empowerment in ISCP鈥檚 first floor project space. The presentation is curated by Lauren Wolchik.
The centerpiece, or altar, of the exhibition is an intimate video projection of Muhande receiving acupuncture and massage treatments at the Life Wellness Center in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. She considers the treatments to be collaborative acts of artmaking, charged by shared ancestral experiences: Black women exchanging Black tenderness in order to heal one another. Muhande鈥檚 documentation of the sessions grew out of a desire to see her 鈥淏lack flesh, Black body, Black physique being held tenderly by another鈥攁nd not just any other, but another Black woman鈥� on screen. Muhande aims to normalize and celebrate images of Black trust, tenderness, and healing.
The film installation is experienced in a counterclockwise sequence, in opposition to the direction enslaved African people were forced to walk around the 鈥淭ree of Oblivion鈥� in Benin before boarding transatlantic ships. Colonial slave traders enacted this ritual to try to make their captives forget their origins. The 鈥淭ree of Oblivion鈥� is further alluded to in Muhande鈥檚 Body Prints, works on paper mounted to wood panels that stand against the gallery walls, surrounding the video installation. These terracotta-colored tempera paintings are created through literal self-embraces and reference an ancestral Congolese ceremony that uses clay. Muhande further defines her own figure with meandering ink lines drawn counterclockwise, a meditative practice that recalls tree rings and records the passing of time.
Artists on show
Contact details
