Ré-imaginer le passé is more than just the two exhibitions in Dakar and Berlin—it is a long-term research journey, spanning several months. Guided by a participatory approach, a team of German and Senegalese curators brings together curious minds and visionary artists to explore our past and future. The project addresses the question of whether a reinterpretation of the past can produce other narratives for the future and thus a new ethic in the relations between the global South and the global North.
We refer to the concept of the imaginary as a starting point for rethinking realities and thus contribute to their change. By focusing on the coloniality of our times, the project proposes to revisit the past and imagine a future from a decolonial perspective, to open up the possibility of new ways of thinking, of other knowledges and other narratives.
These thoughts were the starting point for a workshop series—called LABoratoires and held in May 2023 in Dakar—in which the participating artists together with thinkers Nikita Dhawan and Maria do Mar Castro Varelas shared their approaches and practices. In this dialogic process the artworks shown in the exhibition evolved and most of them have been commissioned specifically for this context. The artists revisit objects, rethink history, rediscover knowledge and bridge space and time.
Ré-imaginer le passé is part of the series of events, artist residencies and exhibitions of the TALKING OBJECTS LAB – Decolonizing Knowledge, which has been evolving in Germany, Senegal, and Kenya since 2020. www.talkingobjectslab.org
Artists: Elsa M’ Bala, Fatou Kandé Senghor, Caroline Gueye, Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro, Ibrahima Thiam, Viyé Diba, Mansour Ciss Kanakassy, Uriel Orlow, Baobab Création.
Curatorial team: Mahret Ifeoma Kupka, Isabel Raabe, Ibou C. Diop, Malick Ndiaye.
The exhibition was supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes), ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen and Pro Helvetia.
Musée Theodore Monod d’art africain IFAN
1, place Soweto, BP 206 Dakar, Senegal
Tel: +221 33 823 92 68
Opening: Saturday, 25 November 2023, 6 pm
Exhibition duration: 26 November 2023 – 8 January 2024
Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm
24/03/2024 – 28/07/2024
KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin
The exhibition shown in Dakar will be presented in Berlin from 24 March to 28 July 2024 at the KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art, in an adapted version.