'In the Black Fantastic': Hayward Gallery Group Exhibition Platforms Alternative Realities
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The Hayward Gallery, London. Photo: Ocula Advisory.
Nick Cave, Chain Reaction (2022). Resin and metal. Dimensions variable. Exhibition view: In the Black Fantastic, Hayward Gallery, London (29 June–18 September 2022). Photo: Ocula Advisory.
Wangechi Mutu, The Backoff Dance (2021). Soil, charcoal, paper pulp, woodglue, wood, shell, coral bean (Erythrina herbacea), dead baserock, gourd, brass bead, horn (bostaurus), spray paint. 179 x 87.5 x 103.5 cm. Exhibition view: In the Black Fantastic, Hayward Gallery, London (29 June–18 September 2022). Photo: Ocula Advisory.
Tabita Rezaire, Ultra Wet - Recapitulation (2017). Pyramid projection mapping installation. Dimensions variable; 11 min 18 s. Exhibition view: In the Black Fantastic, Hayward Gallery, London (29 June–18 September 2022). Photo: Ocula Advisory.
Paintings by Sedrick Chisom on view In the Black Fantastic, Hayward Gallery, London (29 June–18 September 2022). Photo: Ocula Advisory.
Cauleen Smith, Epistrophy (2018). Exhibition view: In the Black Fantastic, Hayward Gallery, London (29 June–18 September 2022). Photo: Ocula Advisory.
Chris Ofili, Odyssey 11 (2019). Oil, gold leaf, and graphite on linen. 309.9 x 200 cm. Exhibition view: In the Black Fantastic, Hayward Gallery, London (29 June–18 September 2022). Photo: Ocula Advisory.
The Hayward Gallery’s group exhibition In the Black Fantastic is a beautifully curated show addressing racial injustice and exploring alternative realities.
Spanning works by 11 artists from the African diaspora—including Nick Cave, Sedrick Chisom, Ellen Gallagher, Hew Locke, Wangechi Mutu, Rashaad Newsome, Chris Ofili, Tabita Rezaire, Cauleen Smith, Lina Iris Viktor, and Kara Walker—the exhibition, curated by Ekow Eshun, offers a ‘zone of creative and cultural liberation’.
Among the video, painting, sculpture, photography, and installations on view, highlights include a hybridised female figure by Wangechi Mutu titled The Backoff Dance (2021) made of natural materials including soil, charcoal, paper pulp, shell, coral bean, and gourd, as well as Sedrick Chisom’s speculative paintings that imagine a world poisoned by domination and destruction.
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