Spells
Spells
A new solo show by Eric Maggassa
Mini Galerie, Hannie Dankbaarpassage 8 in Amsterdam
3 June – 15 July 2022
Mini Galerie is pleased to announce Spells, a new solo show by Eric Magassa.
Magassa is a Swedish multimedia artist based in Gothenburg, whose work explores the intersection of both his own personal identity (that being a fusion of Swedish, French, and Senegalese roots), with the greater (post)colonial narrative. With masks playing a central role since the very beginning of his career, the show revisits the idea that the mask is both a physical artefact, as well as symbolic of humanity’s complex psyche. Using fragments from archival images of stolen West African artefacts, Magassa reconstructs, distorts, and refurbishes these images into ten of his own vinyl mask collages, a process which simultaneously rewrites stolen narratives.
Sourcing his images from a collection of colonial titled books, taking pictures at museums, and browsing the internet’s public domain, Magassa works with a consciousness towards colonial material that is still found all around us. His pieces open up a discourse through which the documentation of ‘identity’ can be challenged. Who is it that constructs these identity stories, and what authority do they have over an individual whose own sense of self still feels determined by them?
By cutting up these historical images, Magassa tries to release them from the colonial chains that kept them in place. Seeing the fragments as different DNA, they all come together as vital pieces of historical data, reminding us to keep challenging the“well-documented” truths that still have such an influence on today’s society.
The show opens on June 3rd, at Hannie Dankbaarpassage 8 in Amsterdam.
