Curated by Gilles Yoro (Felin Light) Memory in Motion brings together a group of contemporary African artists whose practices engage memory not as a fixed archive, but as a living, generative force. Across diverse geographies and mediums, the exhibition considers how identities are continuously formed through processes of accumulation, rupture, translation, and renewal. At its core, the exhibition proposes that memory is not simply something we inherit—it is something we actively construct. It exists in a state of flux, shaped by personal experience, collective histories, and cultural transmissions that traverse time and space. In this sense, memory becomes both material and method: a site of inquiry through which artists negotiate belonging, displacement, and transformation. Materiality plays a central role in these explorations. The artists assembled here treat materials not as neutral supports, but as charged carriers of meaning. Reclaimed wood, found objects, layered pigments, and hybrid techniques function as repositories of lived experience—bearing traces of time, labor, and prior use. These materials evoke the fragile yet resilient nature of memory itself: something that can be eroded, reconstructed, and recontextualized across generations. Artists such as Gerald Chukwuma and Mederic Turay embed memory directly into surface and form, transforming discarded or everyday materials into intricate visual languages that speak to histories of use, value, and transformation. In parallel, Mwass Githinji and Ayanda Mabulu engage the political dimensions of memory, interrogating systems of power, representation, and the enduring legacies of colonial and postcolonial conditions. Their works foreground memory as a contested terrain—one shaped by both visibility and erasure. Other practitioners, including Opa Bathily, Kebe Ibrahim Bemba, and Kenof Franck Kemkeng Noah, draw from spiritual and symbolic traditions, activating ancestral knowledge within contemporary contexts. Through ritualistic forms, coded iconographies, and vernacular references, their works suggest that memory is not only historical, but also metaphysical— circulating through belief systems, oral traditions, and embodied practices. The exhibition further expands into the poetic and introspective registers of memory. In the works of Ange Arthur Koua, Ndabuko Ntuli, Alexis Daniel Onguene Tassi, and Dieudonne Djiela Kamgang, memory unfolds as an intimate and affective experience. Through abstraction, gesture, and figuration, these artists articulate identities that resist fixity—shaped instead by migration, urbanization, and the complexities of global exchange. As curator Gilles Yoro (Felin Light) notes, the materials and forms present in the exhibition operate as metaphors for memory itself—fragile yet enduring, constantly built and rebuilt across time. The symbolic languages that emerge from these works offer points of access into layered cultural narratives, inviting viewers to engage with the multiplicity of African identities beyond singular or static definitions. Ultimately, Memory in Motion is not concerned with resolving memory into a coherent narrative. Rather, it embraces its contradictions, discontinuities, and resonances. It asks: what do we choose to carry forward, and what is left behind? How do objects, surfaces, and gestures hold and transmit memory? And in what ways can contemporary art reframe our understanding of identity as something perpetually in motion? In this space, memory is not a destination, but an ongoing process—one that reverberates across bodies, materials, and time.

ARTISTS

Mederic Turay

Mederic Turay’s practice explores transformation through layered textures, reclaimed materials, and fragmented visual forms. His works evoke histories of movement and resilience, reflecting on how memory becomes embedded within surfaces shaped by time and experience.

Opa Bathily

Opa Bathily engages memory through symbolism, spirituality, and layered visual narratives rooted in ancestral traditions. Through coded iconographies and expressive compositions, his works examine the continuity of cultural memory within contemporary African identity.

Kebe Ibrahim Bemba

Kebe Ibrahim Bemba’s practice navigates the intersections of tradition, spirituality, and contemporary experience. His works draw from symbolic and vernacular languages, creating contemplative spaces where memory and identity become fluid and interconnected.

Kenof Franck Kemkeng Noah

Kenof Franck Kemkeng Noah creates richly layered works that merge ritual, mythology, and personal narrative. Through textured compositions and symbolic forms, he explores how inherited histories continue to shape contemporary consciousness.

Ange Arthur Koua

Ange Arthur Koua’s practice unfolds through abstraction, gesture, and material experimentation. His works evoke emotional and psychological landscapes, reflecting on memory as an intimate and evolving process shaped by migration, urban life, and lived experience.

Gerald Chukwuma

Gerald Chukwuma transforms reclaimed materials into intricate surfaces charged with histories of labor, movement, and use. Combining carving, assemblage, and symbolic patterning, his works investigate transformation, resilience, and collective memory.

Mwass Githinji

Mwass Githinji interrogates political memory through layered visual narratives that address power, displacement, and social transformation. His practice reflects on the complexities of contemporary African identity within rapidly shifting cultural and political landscapes.

Ayanda Mabulu

Ayanda Mabulu confronts historical and political memory through provocative figurative compositions that challenge systems of representation and erasure. His works invite viewers to engage critically with the enduring legacies of colonialism and postcolonial identity.

Ndabuko Ntuli

Ndabuko Ntuli explores memory through poetic abstraction and material sensitivity. His practice reflects on personal and collective histories, creating works that oscillate between fragmentation, reconstruction, and emotional resonance.

Alexis Daniel Onguene Tassi

Alexis Daniel Onguene Tassi’s works examine identity through expressive figuration and layered symbolism. Drawing from both personal and collective narratives, his practice reflects on migration, belonging, and the fluid nature of memory.

Dieudonne Djiela Kamgang

Dieudonne Djiela Kamgang creates works that navigate memory through texture, gesture, and symbolic form. His practice explores the emotional and psychological traces carried across generations, offering meditations on continuity, transformation, and cultural inheritance.