Otobong Nkanga, Solid Maneuvers II, 2015 (detail), Various metals, Forex plates, acrylic, tar, salt, makeup, vermiculite, 141 x 147 x 206 cm, 55 1/2 x 57 7/8 x 81 1/8 in
Solid Maneuvers II, 2015
Otobong Nkanga
Otobong Nkanga’s presentation centres around the installation Solid Maneuvers (2015), a manifestation of her encounters with an area devastated by mining in Namibia known as ‘Green Hill’, which, since 1875, has seen its mineral-rich soil hollowed out, leaving a scar in the landscape. Solid Maneuvers, a poeticized translation of Green Hill’s inverted, excavated topography – containing vermiculite, salt, make up, heavy mineral sands and shredded copper – serves as a poignant reminder of the ecological implications of capitalist accumulation. Integrating performance into the work, Nkanga considers how the machinery used for mining these landscapes are informed by the physical gestures of the human body.
The two vertical, sculptural Posts (2019) continue this exploration through photographic documentation of different regions of the world that Nkanga has encountered, allowing visitors to scroll through the carousels of graduating colour, beginning with the green flora and fauna before taking in the greys and browns of decay and abandon (returning, eventually, once again to green). Two hanging works, Steel to Rust – Meltdown (2016) and The Rift (2023) allude to social, economic and industrial corrosion and its physical and emotional repurcussions for the human body and the environment.
Otobong Nkanga, Solid Maneuvers II, 2015 (detail), Various metals, Forex plates, acrylic, tar, salt, makeup, vermiculite, 141 x 147 x 206 cm, 55 1/2 x 57 7/8 x 81 1/8 in
Solid Maneuvers II, 2015
Otobong Nkanga
Otobong Nkanga’s presentation centres around the installation Solid Maneuvers (2015), a manifestation of her encounters with an area devastated by mining in Namibia known as ‘Green Hill’, which, since 1875, has seen its mineral-rich soil hollowed out, leaving a scar in the landscape. Solid Maneuvers, a poeticized translation of Green Hill’s inverted, excavated topography – containing vermiculite, salt, make up, heavy mineral sands and shredded copper – serves as a poignant reminder of the ecological implications of capitalist accumulation. Integrating performance into the work, Nkanga considers how the machinery used for mining these landscapes are informed by the physical gestures of the human body.
The two vertical, sculptural Posts (2019) continue this exploration through photographic documentation of different regions of the world that Nkanga has encountered, allowing visitors to scroll through the carousels of graduating colour, beginning with the green flora and fauna before taking in the greys and browns of decay and abandon (returning, eventually, once again to green). Two hanging works, Steel to Rust – Meltdown (2016) and The Rift (2023) allude to social, economic and industrial corrosion and its physical and emotional repurcussions for the human body and the environment.
Otobong Nkanga, Solid Maneuvers II, 2015/2020. Performance by Otobong Nkanga who sings, tells stories, and performs different gestures related to industrial processes, physical labor, and the limits of human productivity. Performance at Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2020
Solid Maneuvers II, 2015
Otobong Nkanga
Otobong Nkanga’s presentation centres around the installation Solid Maneuvers (2015), a manifestation of her encounters with an area devastated by mining in Namibia known as ‘Green Hill’, which, since 1875, has seen its mineral-rich soil hollowed out, leaving a scar in the landscape. Solid Maneuvers, a poeticized translation of Green Hill’s inverted, excavated topography – containing vermiculite, salt, make up, heavy mineral sands and shredded copper – serves as a poignant reminder of the ecological implications of capitalist accumulation. Integrating performance into the work, Nkanga considers how the machinery used for mining these landscapes are informed by the physical gestures of the human body.
The two vertical, sculptural Posts (2019) continue this exploration through photographic documentation of different regions of the world that Nkanga has encountered, allowing visitors to scroll through the carousels of graduating colour, beginning with the green flora and fauna before taking in the greys and browns of decay and abandon (returning, eventually, once again to green). Two hanging works, Steel to Rust – Meltdown (2016) and The Rift (2023) allude to social, economic and industrial corrosion and its physical and emotional repurcussions for the human body and the environment.