On the Vastness of our Identities at Les Rencontres d’Arles 2024

The borders of identities appear to be fluid when one grows up in an environment with various cultures. On the Vastness of our Identities deals with the differences and similarities that Delali Ayivi, Monika Ribeiro, Verdiana Albano, Ange-Frédéric Koffi, and MAryam Touzani encountered in their works and reflections in search of the meaning and the freedom for the self-determination of their own identity as Afro-Europeans. They challenge and question the existing narratives and postcolonial structures in order to redefine their own position in a global society. To achieve this, they balance between nature and what has been created, history and future promise, borders and connections, stereotypes and perspectives in order to question their view and understanding of our multifaceted world. In fragmentary approaches and documentary reports on the travelled countries, biological origins, established structures, geographical borders, customs, ideologies, and aesthetic matters, the artists challenge concepts of belonging and reorientation. A common thread seems to run through their works that captures the complexity in creating new possibilities and underlines new perspectives in the merger of cultures. 

On the Vastness of our Identities brings together depictions of our time whose goal is not to see the world as individual nations, but as a common humanity whose experiences can teach one how to broaden one’s own horizon.

Artists

Maryam Touzani, Delali Ayivi, Monika Ribeiro, Verdiana Albano, Ange-Frédéric Koffi