IncarNations is the result of an encounter and stimulating collaboration with the Sindika Dokolo Collection. Under the aegis of artist-curator Kendell Geers, this project stands out for its striking singularity, while also pursuing, for the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR), the dialogue between traditional African Art and contemporary art.
What is African Art? Does it even exist? Or is it simply the projection of a Western concept, masking the cultural alterity of these objects? How might we renew their presentation and exhibition, while placing them within the context of contemporary Africa? All these questions are at work in IncarNations.
Sindika Dokolo and Kendell Geers have conceived a special project. Seeking to move beyond mere labels and categories, IncarNations constitutes a search, if not a quest, an attempt to develop an African perspective, both by resending centre stage to the primal spiritual dimension of the works of art and by instigating their dialogue with contemporary creations. To this end, they call upon the fascinating exploration and exposition of Léopold Sédar Senghor’s thought as analyzed by the Senegalese philosopher Souleymane Bachir Diagne, defining African Art as a veritable philosophy.
Paul Dujardin, CEO and artistic director of BOZAR,
Sophie Lauwers, exhibitions director of BOZAR.
Kendell Geers shares with the readers of Ex_posure his opening speech for IncarNations.