CROSS/ING: Time • Space • Movement

September 4 – October 18, 1997
USF Contemporary Art Museum

CROSS/ING: Time • Space • Movement is an exciting exhibition of work by African artists practicing in the international contemporary art world. It premiered at the Contemporary Art Museum, University of South Florida, September 4–October 18, 1997. The show was organized by the Contemporary Art Museum in collaboration with the Museum of African American Art, Tampa.

The show was guest curated by Olu Oguibe, Ph.D., Stuart Golding Chair in African Art, at the University of South Florida, Tampa. Dr. Oguibe, who teaches African and African American art history in the College of Fine Arts, studied at the University of Nigeria and at the University of London, where he received his doctorate in 1992. He is also an active, conceptual artist whose work is included in the exhibition.

CROSS/ING looks at movement and re/location, whether temporary or lasting as a condition of contemporary art practice and presents the work of African artists who are no longer bounded by the old affiliations of geography and race, yet inevitability reflect [on] their common claim to Africa in their work. The exhibition features the work of ten artists (five female and five male) from the North of the continent to the South across racial divides, artists who by the nature of their practice and cultural milieu belong in a larger world and divide their time between Africa and other centers of contemporary cultural practice, artists who traverse the numerous geographies of contemporary art whether physical, conceptual, or metaphysical.

Oladélé Bamgboyé
Photo, installation and video artist. Born in Benin, Nigeria, in 1963. Grandson of the legendary Yoruba master sculptor, Bamgboye. Grew up and studied in Glasgow, Scotland. Has worked in Canada, Germany and England. Held a number solo shows in Scotland, Estonia and Germany, as well as group shows in major venues in Europe, Canada and the U.S. Winner of numerous awards including grants of the Scottish and British Arts Councils as well as the Gulbenkein Foundation New Horizons Bursary for new ideas in film making. Exhibited at the Sorak Biennial, Korea, and Prospect Õ96 in Frankfurt, Germany.

Bili Bidjocka
Painter and installation artist. Born in Douala, Cameroon in 1962. Taken to France at age 12. Has lived and worked in Paris since. Held several one-person shows in Europe and America, and participated in several more group shows including Otros Pais which traveled through Europe in 1995.

Gordon Bleach
Photo and installation artist. Born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Received a doctorate degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Cape Town. Has shown extensively in South Africa and recently participated in an exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum titled: In/Sight: African Photographers, 1940 to the Present.

Kendell Geers
Conceptual artist. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1968. Lives and works in Johannesburg and Nice, France. Has held solo shows in Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa, and taken part in numerous group shows in Africa, Europe and the Americas. Exhibited at the Aperto of the XLVI Biennale of Venice, as well as the first Johannesburg Biennial and the Fifth Biennial of Havana.

Lubaina Himid
Painter and installation artist. Born in Zanzibar, Tanzania in 1954. Studied at the Wimbledon School of Art and Royal College of Art, London, and the University of East Anglia. Director of the Elbow Room, an alternative art space in London between 1986 and 1990. Has held several solo shows in Europe and taken part in major group shows including the 5th Biennialof Havana and The Other Story at the Hayward Gallery, London. of Havana and The Other Story at the Hayward Gallery, London.

Marcia Kure
Painter and printmaker. Born in Jos, Nigeria in 1970. Studied at the University of Nigeria. Has held solo shows in Nigeria and taken part in group shows in Nigeria and Germany.

Houria Niati
Painter, singer, installation artist. Born in 1948 in Khemis Miliana, near Algiers, Algeria. Has held several solo shows and participated in many group exhibitions, especially in Europe and America. Lives and works in London.

Olu Oguibe
Conceptual artist. Born in Aba, Nigeria, in 1964. Studied in Nigeria and at the University of London. Winner of several awards including the Nigerian National Arts Council Prize, the Arts Council of Great Britain New Collaborations Grant, and the Hundred Works and Their Masters Honor of the Archive Galerie and City of Friedberg, Germany. Has held many solo shows in Africa, Europe and Australia, and taken part in group exhibitions in Africa, Europe and America, including Seven Stories about Modern African Art at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, and La Citta Idealle in Sicily, Italy. Has published and lectured widely on contemporary and African art.

Tracey Rose
Video and installation artist. Born in South Africa in 1974. Received a bachelors of arts degree from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa and has participated in several group exhibitions in Johannesburg.

Folake Shoga
Video and installation artist. Born in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1955. Studied at Newcastle upon Tyne Politechnic. Has worked for several years as an illustrator. Held numerous solo shows and taken part in many group exhibitions. Winner of several awards including the Arts Council of Great Britain bursary for Film and Video and a Television Film Award for her film, Imperfect Window. Lives and works in Bristol, England.