ART CITIES:Nottingham-Otobong Nkanga

Otobong Nkanga brings together culture and nature. In her work, the landscape is a sounding board for ideas, stories and memories. Her installations are imaginative, full of thoughts and feelings, but also earthly: they represent our connection with the world. The unity of man and landscape is a recurring theme, including our annexation of the landscape and our dubious way of exploiting the earth’s natural resources.

By Efi Michalarou

Otobong Nkanga’s tapestries, performances, drawings and installations trace all kinds of different botanical and geological histories. This is Otobong Nkanga’s first solo exhibition in UK, and is titled “The Encounter That Took a Part of Me”. The exhibition is made up of two site-specific installations. One, a new commission, is a constellation of museum display cases, a vast wall drawing and a two-part tapestry. Nkanga has also created a new version of her installation “Taste of a Stone”, which brings the natural world into the gallery to create a landscape of boulders, pebbles, trees and other plants. This environment for contemplation is inhabited by local storytellers, musicians and dancers as well as visitors, who are invited to experience an array of memories and moods. “Taste of a Stone” unfolds itself like a man-made landscape; a custom made museological indoor garden. Right before our eyes an oasis of white pebbles stretches out into the room. As soon as we enter the gallery to explore this world, we hear the crunching sound and we feel the sometimes slightly uncomfortable sensation of the loose pebbles under our feet. Alongside the walls, a number of stones are displayed separately in a combination of images and words, in a sculptural setting. By interweaving cultural, historical and political elements with personal stories in a varied, yet balanced way, Nkanga creates multi-sensory webs with her room-filling installations. What is striking about Nanga’s work is its tangible sensuality. By adding a distinct physical dimension she extends the visual perception of her work.

Info: Nottingham Contemporary, Weekday Cross, Nottingham, Duration: 15/10/1-15/1/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 11:00-17:00, www.nottinghamcontemporary.org