January 18, 19, April 4, 5, 2008

Nelson-Atkins Auditorium; all works shown at each screening.

In order to augment Tapping Currents’ paintings, sculptures, and video, shown in the Project Space a series of curated videos were screened in the museum’s auditorium.

Ingrid Mwangi and Robert Hutter’s Mzungu (Swahili for white person) comments on tourism and the difficulty of communication between indigenous people and foreigners. In Minnette Vári’s Quake, morphing composite figures, shifting sands and cities emerging and dissolving in the background represent an apocalyptic vision. Sue Williamson’s Welcome to the Jet Hotel addresses the ups-and-downs of travel and the discrepancies between promotional material and the realities of the Jet Hotel. In Churchill Madikida’s Virus, a single human form divides and replicates, serving as a metaphor for AIDS. Bernie Searle’s poetic Vapour shows industrial cooking pots arranged in a perfectly ordered grid over crackling fires. These vessels over fires refer to traditional African cooking techniques. Over time, steam escapes from beneath the lids of the pots. Finally, a lid is raised—steam rises and evaporates—revealing only emptiness. Is Vapour a metaphor for famine or for the international community’s failure to respond to human need? Zoulikha Bouabdellah’s Dansons is a humorous comment on multiculturalism and colonialism. Referencing Algeria as a former colony of France, a belly dancer performs an indigenous dance to the marching rhythms of the French national anthem. Yinka Shonibare’s A Masked Ball, is an imaginative account, performed through dance, of the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden. A real-life historical figure, Gustav III is a metaphor for aristocratic excess and political corruption. Georgia Papageorge’s Africa Rifting is discussed above.

This exhibition is supported by the Campbell-Calvin Fund and the Elizabeth C. Bonner Charitable Trust for exhibitions. Midwest Airlines is the official airline sponsor.