Once Way Another

Existing Otherwise – Once Way Another Existing Otherwise – Once Way Another 25.02. – 26.03. 2022 Exhibition by Sarah Ama Duah and Ato Jackson Curated by Solvej Helweg Ovesen Opening on 24.02. 2022, 7 to 10 pm Finissage: 25.03. 2022. 2 to 4. pm sculpture-performance: to build to bury to remember by Sarah Ama Duah at the opening & finissage Performer: Céline Rodrigues Monteiro Maleburu Moorosi Sarah Ama Duah Sarah Zeryab Within the framework of Existing Otherwise | Anders Existieren 2021–22 at Galerie Wedding Artistic Direction: Solvej Helweg Ovesen Returning from a journey of collective explorations and acquaintances in Tamale and Kumasi, Ghana, and participating in the exhibition “Existing Otherwise – The Future of Coexistence” in Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) in Tamale (14.01. – 30.04. 2022) Sarah Ama Duah and Ato Jackson exhibit together in Berlin. Over the past 6 months, Sarah Ama Duah and Ato Jackson, have produced their artworks on the subject of ‘existing otherwise’ in both Ghana and Germany. From an intimate exploration of how online activities and “socialising” affect our daily lives, habits and poses, to the public debate on postcolonial monuments and their necessary exchange, the two artists approach the theme of “existing otherwise” from different angles. They share an inert curiosity about contemporary visual culture, the influence of ethical and digital shifts in portraiture, performativity, and posing in public situations. Ghanaian artist, Ato Jackson creates architectural interventions with his upscale and colourful silkscreen prints, e.g. on plastic backdrops, and exposes his images (e.g. selfies) from Instagram to the weather, human touches and the urban landscape. Jackson intensively explores this new habit of people living online, critically examining social media as a site of image production, particularly portraiture in his recent work. In the last decade, since the invention of Instagram, social media has dramatically changed our lives. His silkscreen series “For the Gram” is a study of visual culture and how people adapt their posture to online existence and perhaps the loss of presence. In her work “to build to bury to remember” German-Ghanaian artist and designer, Sarah Ama Duah is interested in the idea of monuments as ma-nifestations of ideologies, hierarchies of bodies, devotion and as a way of thinking about shared values and utopias. In her performance she creates an alternative, temporary monument made of latex with her own body. Further-more, she invites performers to join her in a universe that occupies and merges with hidden but profane forms. In her installation and performance at Galerie Wedding Duah reflects on the female body and the fetishized status of historical monuments.