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Everyone that is alive is complicit in one’s own misery.
- Umar Rashid
Tiwani Contemporary is delighted to announce its forthcoming exhibition, Umar Rashid: The Undiscovered Genius of the Niger Delta. An Unexpected Journey Into Chaos Told From The Perspective of Someone That Was Not There, 1799. Tiwani’s first show of 2023 in its Lagos space, the presentation coincides with Umar’s residency in the city as part of Tiwani’s collaboration with Guest Artists Space Foundation (GAS), Lagos.
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Rashid’s deep engagement with how history is retold, shared and experienced led him to become the cosmographer of his own fictional universe, chronicling the exploits of the Frenglish Empire around the globe in paintings, sculpture, moving-image and literature. The works are contextually grounded in the period of Western European expansionism during the 16th-19th centuries, and he imaginatively interferes with the formal accounts of what we know of these periods in his use of visual fabulation - a simultaeneous mix of historical and current day vernacular that references political, and socio-cultural phenomena, fantasy and speculative propositioning. The interplay works towards questioning the concept of free will: How do we as individuals and members of families and communities take responsibility for the construction of the narratives and conversations that structure and inform our experiences of the world? To what extent are we the true authors of our own destinies?
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The title for the show, The Undiscovered Genius of the Niger Delta. An Unexpected Journey Into Chaos Told From The Perspective Of Someone Who Wasn’t There. 1799 describes the artist’s estranged position and approach to understanding and building familiarity to the kinship groups, country and continent he descends from as a process of orientation in a country he’s never physically been to. In this new series of twelve works on canvas, Rashid questions what forms of agency, thought and self-determination could individuals have experienced during the 16-19th centuries that could shape regional or world events for better or for worse? To what extent are black and brown subjects complicit in the formation of the world-shaping events that colonialism enacts?
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Rashid uses the lyrics and structure of the song 1999, by the late American musician Prince, to pace the trajectories of four protagonists, who in 1799 leave the land that would eventually become known as Nigeria 98 years later (in 1897). He imagines individuals from the Fulani/Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Calabar/Efik cultural groups embarking on journeys that support the mercenary activity of Company Crocodile, a black military regiment of the Frenglish Empire. The exhibition includes portraits and scenic paintings that shed light on the personal thoughts and circumstances shaping each person’s decisions to enlist with the Company and what they’ve witnessed.
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About artist
Umar Rashid is an American multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. He received his BA in cinema and photography from Southern Illinois University. Recent shows include Sharjah Biennial 15, Sharjah, UAE (2023) and MOMA PS1, New York, US (2022-23) and his work is included in the collections of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art and the Jorge Perez Collection, Brooklyn Museum amongst others. Rashid has been presented by Tiwani contemporary since 2020; The Undiscovered Genius of the Niger Delta. An Unexpected Journey Into Chaos Told From The Perspective Of Someone Who Wasn’t There. 1799 is his first exhibition in Lagos.
Rashid’s recent shows include: Sharjah Biennial 15, Sharjah, UAE (2023), MOMA PS1, New York, US (2022-23), Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam, NL (2022); Almine Rech, Paris, France (2022); Half Gallery, New York, USA (2021); Blum & Poe, LA, USA (2021); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, USA in partnership with The Huntington, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, USA, (2020); University of Arizona, Tucson, USA (2018); University of Memphis, Memphis, USA (2017); Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, USA (2014); Wellin Museum of Art, Clinton, USA (2013); the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit, USA (2013); the Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, USA (2013) and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, USA (2012).His work is included in the collections of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art, Jorge Perez Collection, Brooklyn Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Progressive Collection, 21C Museum, the Nevada Museum of Art, and the Wellin Museum of Art amongst others. -
Works
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Umar Rashid, I was dreaming when I wrote this so, sue me if I go too fast. The Fantastic Four astride the Delta Chimera, attended by the Keepers of Power, and the Scribe of Legend. 1799. , 2023 -
Umar Rashid, I was dreaming when I wrote this. Forgive me if I go astray. The song of the four companions begins int the Sahel in the presence of the marabouts. Pandora comes from the north. The Harmattan approaches and beckon the storms and wars to come. 1799. , 2023
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Umar Rashid, Life is just a party and parties weren’t meant to last. A Frenglish corvette engages with a Portuguese Frigate oof the coast of idyllic Aotearoa. Simultaneously, Te Wheke-a-Muturangi and a Manaia spring from the waters in the shadow of the mountain and t, 2023
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Umar Rashid, So, if I gotta die I'm gonna listen to my body tonight. After a pitched battle against Spanish forces in Nueva Granada, the lovers take to a shimmering pool to embrace under the eyes of the jungle, a pair of hunters, a crocodile, some assassins and a fucking traitor. Their ultimate fate is known only to the gods. 1799., 2023
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Umar Rashid, Tried to run from the destruction. You know I didn’t even care. Taking advantage of the disruptive rebel activity in Jakarta, The Frenglish Republican Army swept through Java, “liberating” the farmers, and the landless multitudes whilst decimating any and all Dutch soldiers they came across. The scarecrow sees all and therefore knows, all. 1799 ., 2023
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Umar Rashid, When I woke up this morning, could’ve sworn it was judgement day. The Califas skirmish between the Frenglish Republicans and the Spanish Empire opens a rupture is space and time. The rats make away with the valuables. Such things are to be expected in t, 2023
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Umar Rashid, War is all around us. My mind says prepare to fight. The bizarre hate triangle of trade between Africa, Europe, and the Americas complete with illustrations and captions., 2020 / 2023
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Umar Rashid, The sky was all purple, there were people running everywhere. The Frenglish Republican Army unites with the Huron to eradicate (unsuccessfully) the last of the Dutch forces near the Hudson. The ice cracks and many are swallowed up. The goddess of the deep vanquishes the iceman (for now). 1799., 2023
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Umar Rashid, Mans did it for clout. Yarima of Kano. Younger brother to the celebrated fighter and later rebel Amadou. Joined the Frenglish Republican military order, The Crocodile Company after the fall of the Frenglish Empire in 1792. The Crocodile Company was comprised almost exclusively of soldiers of African descent, yet always maintained a White, European commander. Quite wealthy and respected, Yarima wanted to follow in his brother’s footsteps as an adventurer., 2023
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Umar Rashid, Mans did it for revenge. Chetachi of Umueri was orphaned at a young age by Fulani raiders and made his way to Lagos, making a living with other dispersed Igbo communities. In his teen years, he impressed the European soldiers with his bare-knuckle boxing, 2023
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Umar Rashid, Mans did it for the connect. Ayinde, a man of a noble house in Lagos that broke with tradition, aspired to sail the seas and bring new technologies back home. He joined the Company Crocodile in 1793 and though not the best fighter, he was extremely cleve, 2023
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Umar Rashid, She did it for herself. Reina (birthname unknown) was a wealthy widow from Calabar. Although she was widowed at 16, she managed her finances so well that she became one of the wealthiest people in the region. However, she had another side to her. She , 2023
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Umar Rashid: The Undiscovered Genius of the Niger Delta. An Unexpected Journey Into Chaos Told From The Perspective of Someone That Was Not There, 1799.
Past viewing_room
