Jeannette Ehlers Surveys Danish Colonial History in New Exhibition
On view at the Kunsthal Charlottenborg until August 7.
To coincide with her Black Bullets exhibition at the Espoo Museum of Modern Art in Finland, Jeannette Ehlers has unveiled an immersive new show just over the pond at the Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen.
Archives in the Tongue: A Litany of Freedoms presents a series of new installations combining film, performance and photography that seek to elucidate Afro-Caribbean relations in regards to Danish colonial history.
One of the central works on display revolves around the mythical character known as Moko Jumbie, who is said to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean to care and heal African people. Ehlers, who is of Danish-Trinidadian descent, integrates Moko to bring a sense of healing to the exhibition, while simultaneously spotlighting Copenhagen’s dark and lesser-known historical underbelly.
Despite the vivid light and video works on view, arguably the most striking visual comes from a series of braided hair installations that are bound in-and-around the space. According to a statement by the gallery, the braids allude to the “story of how enslaved women of African descent in South America and the Caribbean used braiding styles such as cornrows to map escape routes.”
Curated by Awa Konaté and Lotte Løvholm, Archives in the Tongue: A Litany of Freedoms is on view at Kunsthal Charlottenborg until August 7.
In related news, HypeArt compiled ten must see shows for the rest of 2022.
Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Kongens Nytorv 1,
1050 København, Denmark
