Ibrahim Mahama : Lazarus

Beautiful exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey of new work by Ibrahim Mahama.

Most of the work in the show were collages using archive material, colonial maps, bank notes, pages from ledgers and pictures of bats to reflect the layered history of the artists home country, Ghana. I loved the repletion of the bat motif which was also reflected in an installation of large bats hanging from the ceiling in one of the 9x9x9 gallery.

Most magical however was the installation in the largest room. I was reflectively looking at the collages when I was surprised by a loud noise almost like a low helicopter! As I turned the corner into the back part of the room, I found a space full of old sewing machines on desks which were wired up to start working at regular intervals. The noise swept towards you as they started to work.

The press release says “the works come together to address the passage of time, the notion of obsolescence and the potential for regeneration”. I’m not sure I got all of that but I loved the effect of these old machines coming back to life.


Closed 7 November 2020

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