Dorothy Akpene Amenuke: Dreaming Is a Map

For her solo at Nubuke Foundation, Dorothy Akpene Amenuke presents nine artworks representing a constellation of metaphors. Fabrics and fibres, central to her artistic language, are turned into installations, tapestries, and long banners to take over the gallery. These reused textiles and organic materials carry memory, identity, and social structures.

As recycled materials, they act like living archives holding personal and collective stories intertwined to blur our perception of time and of spatial boundaries. The display of the artworks invites the visitors to immerse themselves into the constant evolution of a given space that grows and shrinks like the breath of a living organ, whispering individual and community journeys. This compilation of experiences weaves a map of political and cultural manifestoes to embrace.

The Scroll series, inspired by language and writing systems, are subtle references to hieroglyphics and other textual and symbolic forms. She creates fictive glyphs on jute fabrics, pandanus mats, and fabric pieces. The motifs, made from twisted jute ropes, resemble embroidery, but are perhaps mysterious codes out of reach for the profane.

The Strength Within, made of macrame knots, used lady's handbags and jute ropes, questions gender, intimacy, identity, and social structures. What is the role and place of women? How much do they have a say, and the freedom to decide for themselves? How do they navigate these too many mental and physical boundaries imposed by traditional as well as contemporary societies?

Habitation Variations, the two large installations made of cotton polyester fabric, kapok, pandamus mats, explore notions of geography and contestations of space. How does one deal with restriction of movements and borders? According to the artist, "the installations embody the logic of an extraneous system that progressively takes over another, resulting in a new being, not altogether homogenous. Some of the elements are conceived like parasites. They infiltrate the space, slowly giving it their particular nature over time. They may merge physically or could be combined optically from particular angles into new entities. They emerge not as normalized beings but become unfathomable and quite unnerving."

In The Moon Light and Through the Sun, face each other like two sides of the same coin. Through the Sun is a reference to a sunset she was contemplating in the US Virgin Islands. The beauty of that moment also made her realise where she was, raising the memory of enslaved people from Gold Coast - today Ghana - shipped to the island, before losing their identity and their freedom. The sun comes every day, revealing beauty in the merge of dawn. But as it goes, vanishing beyond the horizon, it invites the moon to take over the sky to prevent darkness from swallowing the surroundings and a fragmented culture that keeps communities together. The sun and the moon, eternal allies, act as guardians of light, wrapping these societies in a warm, protected receptacle of infinite resilience and faith.

Harmonics of Dislocation is yet another reflection on duality. Black and White, the two opposites, cohabitate to create a safe space. As harmonisers of chaos and the uncanny, they regulate the minds to appease the souls and create a collective sense of belonging.

Together We Stand alludes to Ghanaian communal life. Borrowing from the Ghanaian idea of Nsaasawa (a textile made by joining leftover pieces of African prints), the work is made of pieces of fabric cut into squares and rectangles from donated clothes. The technique of quilting adds a layer of warmth for the body and for the mind. Placed on a high pedestal, it is an invitation to reflect on the Akan proverb "tikro nko agyina," which encourages teamwork and teaches that true wisdom comes from collaborative discussion rather than solitary thought.

Dreaming is a Map!!!!...Navigation...? is an invitation to dive into negotiated spaces, while keeping in mind the power of the collective and its capacity to overcome uncertainty and transcend imagination.

N’Goné Fall
Curator

nubukefoundation.com