A few weeks ago, we briefly mentioned the artwork of Githinji Wa Mbire as the exhibition currently on view at Berkeley, California's new caffeine-enabled hotspot, Guerilla Café. Well, time flies when you're having fun (or busily scanning the globe for the newest bits of Black visual culture). So now, Githinji's show, titled Every Life is a Prophecy, has less than a week to go in its current location.
Githinji, a Bay Area resident, is channeling what we've seen as a dominant strain in the aesthetics of Continental African art: recycling, reusing, repurposing. For example, check out Beninese artist Romuald Hazoumé for work that mixes the abject, the historical and the consumerist in disturbing ways. We also note El Anatsui's lyrical approach and Gonçalo Mabunda's obstinately political approach. Meanwhile, Githinji's approach might be described as "archeological". He builds large assemblages using bits of junk and discarded materials that he comes across while biking around the city or exploring abandoned building sites. He attributes the technique to a "natural humanistic healing" orientation to art making, and works with a heightened awareness of legacy and history.
The show runs until 8 October.
