Take What You Need. And Then Some is a group exhibition that presents African notions of
temporalities through the work of contemporary artists Adjoba Marie, Akpene Enyonam,
Ewuresi Archer, and Patience Kofuma Annan.
Reflecting on Okwui Enwezor’s inquiry on “how we think historically in the present” when
talking about the contemporary, the artists, whilst working within present contexts, draw from
the engagement of the past to the now and its evolution, in an attempt to stake a claim about
what that time entailed, and their own positions in history. Their works provide us with
elements of answers that point to a multiplicity of ways of being in time — in particular, to the
awareness of what it is to be in the present whilst being alert to the presence of other kinds of
time. They present a rhythm of events that consciously bend time and space to match our
ancient history with the present and the future.
Our ways of being and doing have never been time-bound but have always enjoyed boundless
and timeless spiritual connections between us and nature. Those ways are informed by the
discernment of our ancestors, whose strength of spirit guides us to resist the imperialist
forceful severance from nature and the supernatural, and continue to be one with our ecology’s
enduring time. Operating from this premise, to even nominate the relevance of one historical
entity to another is to declare them to be contemporaneous. Thus, this exhibition is less linked
to historical inquiry. At its heart is a profound interest to create a sort of contemporary
moment that reflects the institution's position for the spectator who will see them.
The exhibition posits that that time can move in circles, spirals, and echoes; that it can pause
to listen; that it can remember. The artists featured in “Take What You Need. And Then Some”
have their own relationship with time and place, their own memories, histories, and
premonitions of a future in the process of being created. As the artists navigate their personal
journeys, the gallery transforms into a sacred space where multitudes of pictorial contributions
converge to create a visual narrative that transcends time.
Curatorial Statement by Kukua Kweku-Badu.
