Otobong Nkanga. There’s No Such Thing as Solid Ground

Otobong Nkanga’s interest lies in the complex relationship between humans and land. In her works, she explores this relationship within the tension between exploitative extraction processes and structures of care and repair. Following her one-year stay as In House: Artist in Residence 2019 at the Gropius Bau, a solo exhibition will offer insights into the central issues of her work.

Otobong Nkanga evokes the idea that the human body and the landscape on which it moves are interdependent. Based on extensive research and the interweaving of various media such as drawing, installation and performance, she traces the movement of minerals, goods and people in order to explore in depth economic and ecological processes. In her work, she also investigates the differing meanings ascribed to natural resources in various cultures and the violent relationship on which their extraction and further processing is based – thus challenging traditional ways of thinking.