About this Event
Artworks by Jo Ractliffe and Yonamine included in the exhibition Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica at the Art Institute of Chicago address the Angolan Civil War and its aftermath. For Yonamine, who is Angolan, and Ractliffe, who is South African, confronting this subject through their work has been, in part, a process of discovering the different ways in which it marked their sense of the world. This conversation, moderated by Mariela Acuna, Director of Exhibitions and Residency, will offer insights into how their time in Angola has influenced the two artists' practices.
Yonamine is a Visiting Resident at Hyde Park Art Center (March 4-28). His residency was organized in partnership with the Art Institute on the occasion of the exhibition Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica.
About Jo Ractliffe
Since the 1980s, Jo Ractliffe’s photographs have reflected her ongoing preoccupation with the South African landscape and the ways in which it figures in the country’s imaginary, particularly the violent legacies of apartheid. In 2007 Ractliffe extended her interests to the war in Angola, a conflict South Africa was intricately involved in. This work was manifest in three photobooks: Terreno Ocupado (2008), As Terras do Fim do Mundo (2010) and The Borderlands (2013). In 2020, the Art Institute of Chicago mounted a retrospective of Ractliffe’s photographs, Drives, which coincided with the publication of a monograph by Steidl of Ractliffe’s work, "Photographs: 1980s – Now." Ractliffe is represented by Stevenson Gallery.
About Yonamine
Yonamine is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores themes of memory, identity, and the fragmentation of history. Having lived in Angola, Zaire, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Germany, his nomadic upbringing profoundly shapes his artistic practice, reflecting the complexities of contemporary globalized identities. Working across mediums such as collage, painting, drawing, and installation, Yonamine employs a distinctive layered and fragmented aesthetic. His art reimagines historical and contemporary narratives, addressing the legacies of colonial histories and the disjointed nature of modern existence. Yonamine’s work has been featured in several international biennials and exhibitions. Highlights include his participation in the 29th São Paulo Biennial in Brazil (2010), where his work explored the intersections of history and modernity, and the IX Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab Emirates (2009), which addressed themes of cultural displacement. His recent projects include the 4th Ural Industrial Biennial in Ekaterinburg, Russia, curated by João Ribas; the 14th Kaunas Biennial Long-Distance Friendships in Lithuania, curated by Alicia Knowk; and A Good Neighbor, the 15th Istanbul Biennial in Turkey.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 South Cornell Avenue, Chicago, United States
USD 0.00
