A Different Now Is Close Enough To Exhale On You: Curating, according to Bonaventure

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“I wanted to bring together artists whose works I have deeply admired, especially because their works are framed between the polarities of poeticality and politicality. What they all have in common is an ability to approach some of the most sensitive sociopolitical issues with prudence, profundity, and in solidarity, while still possessing a strong aesthetic bearing,” says explains Dr Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, a curator, author and biotechnologist of the exhibition A Different Now Is Close Enough To Exhale On You.

“When I was approached to curate this exhibition, I was reading Eloghosa Osunde’s essay & Other Stories, from which I borrowed the exhibition’s title, which symbolised something of a trust that in these times of dread, artists and culture at large play an important role in crafting our worlds.”

In the buildup to the announcement of the collaboration, I was not surprised by the  enormous respect Professor Soh Bejeng Ndikung was afforded in South Africa, especially from an established institution such as the Goodman Gallery.

Ndikung is the former founder and artistic director of SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin, Germany, and is the artistic director of Sonsbeek 20–24, a quadrennial contemporary art exhibition in Arnhem, The Netherlands. He was the  artistic director of the 13th Bamako Encounters last year, a biennale for African photography in Mali and from 1 January 2023, he stepped into a new role as director and chief curator at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin. 

In the subtlety and style of Ndikung, the Berlin-based writer and curator has done it — yet again. Bona, as he is affectionately known to his colleagues and friends, is one of the many external curators to collaborate with the Goodman Gallery team, and seems to have turned upside down both the Johannesburg and Cape Town spaces. 

He’s flipped curating on its head and presented a show in collaboration with Umhlabathi Collective, a Joburg collective of  photographers, and the magnanimous gallery franchise, with the elegance and harmony of a delicate piece of cloth draped carefully around a table, ready for a group of people to break bread and dance, together to celebrate, to grieve and encourage one another.

A Different Now Is Close Enough To Exhale On You is a provocation; a reminder and a statement — to not mention the insurmountable pain that comes before great joy can manifest. And, indeed, without joy, there is no camaraderie and without that, there are no comrades and friends. The exhibition is an ode to a simple truth that working together — giving and nurturing — is life. 

In the Umhlabathi space (below), co-founded by the Umhlabathi Collective, photographs line the walls, some hung in unison with the light piercing through the space, others running across to tell a short story, yet all of them pulling the viewer in so as to  understand the poetics of taking images in spaces where many dare not tread. 

The photographic works form part of a narrative that is steeped in the politics of space and, interestingly, after many years of disuse, like many of  Johannesburg’s downtown buildings, the old Market Photo Workshop is graced by some of the collective members’ images and, once again, in true “Bona” style, the space has been revived. 

Jabulani Dhlamini, Lebohang Khanye, Andile Komanisi, Tshepiso Mabula ka Ndongeni, Tshepiso Mazibuko, Sabelo Mlangeni, Andrew Tshabangu and Thandile Zwelibanzi opened and anchored the three-pronged approach of the show which ran from 22 November to 10 January, ushering in a new era for the Umhlabathi Collective, in managing and mentoring young photographers, as well as running a space to exhibit other photographers’ works. 

Having opened on 23 November 2022 in the Johannesburg gallery, the second part of the exhibition opens up a conversation about connection and extraction. In this part of the exhibition, it is clear what Ndikung meant when he spoke of solidarity as a form of resistance. In the Johannesburg gallery, an installation by Rehema Chachage — homage to a close relative’s cake recipe, dissecting the notion of what home means when you are far from it — grabs attention, crafting memories of family. 

“A single bite of Bibi’s cake is a single bite of history, the present, memory, a future, tradition, something special, a delicacy, something priceless, something expected, something anticipated, community, generosity, arrival, a habit, a message, togetherness, love,” says Chachage, a Tanzanian-born and Vienna-based, PhD Candidate and artist. 

In solidarity with Chachage, an installation work by Georgina Maxim (below) sits eloquently on the floor, sequenced and tethered together, mirroring the delicate nature of loss and comfort. Both pieces pull from Sabelo Mlangeni’s photographic essay of his experience at the “Royal House of Allure”, a community (family) built to provide a safe space for LGBTQIA+ persons in Lagos, Nigeria.

With questions not yet answered, the Johannesburg Goodman Gallery is expertly curated with an understanding of the historical context of a city that rose from the gold mines thus, like any other city on the continent, has been built from deep  extractive means. The exterior is adorned with Ghanaian artist Theresah Ankomah’s creation of Kenaf Onion bags, each intricately dyed to exhibit the aesthetic value of each one, repurposed and woven together, collectively. 

The expansive work on paper by Canada-based and Botswana-born artist Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum gathers the space softly while the installation by Leo Asemota (below) captures the essence of where it all begins and ends — with a piece of land — the irony being that the earth from which the installation is made from is from the grounds of the Goodman Gallery (Outofor I) and the land from which the installation earth comes from is stuffed with king protea flowers (Outofor II). It makes for a striking and smart curatorial presence for Johannesburg audiences to share moments of reflection on the issue of ownership and loss. 

Although more abstract in its curation, the third part of the exhibition, opened on 24 November, features mostly installations and abstract works. One such work is from the brilliant artist and academic Olu Oguibe. Sex Work is Honest Work reflects the times and conjures up an active voice within us all to acknowledge a simple truth. 

A bold statement has been made through the making and intellectual interpretation of each work included in the exhibition and the Goodman Gallery, together with guest curator Professor Ndikung, encourage embracing justice, community and collaboration, beyond just the aesthetic value of an artwork.

The Johannesburg leg of the exhibition will close on 14 January 2023, while the Cape Town gallery will show the exhibition till 21 January 2023.