Montague Contemporary is delighted to present "Of Land, Body, and Water,” our first solo exhibition of Kenyan artist Jess Atieno.
Her latest body of work results in a complex and nuanced exhibition that offers viewers an immersive journey into the duality of representation in the post-colonial context. Jess Atieno offers a fresh lens on African identity by probing the transient nature of visual imagery and how representation eludes photographic capture.
This initial component of the exhibition grapples with the limitations of visual mediums in truly capturing the essence and complexity of the subjects they intend to represent. The artworks therefore invite viewers to question and reconsider conventional means of representation, challenging the objective gaze of the camera and the assumptions it often perpetuates.
Concurrently, the exhibition explores the possibilities of reclaiming this representation, rooted in the transformative potential of the Swahili "Leso" fabrics, also known as khanga. Atieno views the leso/khanga as a metaphor for "reclaiming representation through iconography and remediation. The artist employs the leso’s rich cultural tapestry to frame historical subjects in a way that empowers and reclaims their identity and representation.
The leso, a fabric deeply embedded in East African life and history, becomes an articulate narrative medium in Atieno's hands. Its multifaceted designs and proverbs (ujumbe) offer an avenue for interpersonal communication, particularly for women, in cultures that might otherwise restrain their voices. Atieno utilizes these core design aspects of the leso—”ujumbe,” “pindo,”, and “mji”—to elevate her artistic narrative.
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Jess AtienoIbado (Worship) 1, 2023Signed and DatedJacquard Woven Fabric62 x 41 in.
157.5 x 104.1 cm. -
Jess AtienoIbado (Worship) 2, 2023Signed and DatedJacquard Woven Fabric62 x 41 in.
157.5 x 104.1 cm. -
Jess AtienoSubira (Patience), 2023Signed and DatedJacquard Woven Fabric62 x 41 in.
157.5 x 104.1 cm. -
Jess AtienoHabesha (Don't Care), 2023Signed and DatedJacquard Woven Fabric53 x 41 in.
134.6 x 104.1 cm. -
Jess AtienoBlack Madonna, 2023Jacquard Woven Fabric58 1/2 x 42 in.
148.6 x 106.7 cm.Courtesy of Montague ContemporaryCopyright The Artist -
Jess AtienoFeels Like Home, 2023Signed and DatedScreenprint on Canvas72 x 48 in.
182.9 x 121.9 cm. -
Jess AtienoFull Circle, 2023Signed and DatedScreenprint on Canvas72 x 48 in.
182.9 x 121.9 cm. -
Jess AtienoThe Matriarch, 2023Signed and DatedScreenprint on Canvas72 x 48 in.
182.9 x 121.9 cm.Courtesy of Montague ContemporaryCopyright The Artist -
Jess AtienoFoundation, 2023Signed and DatedScreenprint on Canvas72 x 48 in.
182.9 x 121.9 cm.
Jess Atieno maintains a practice informed by inquiries on place, home and dispossession through the lens of the post-colonial. Atieno sees herself as carrying inscriptions of a colonial past and studying as an adult in the US made her increasingly unable to situate herself in a static reality of belonging. With this inspiration, Atieno time travels into history through its material remains: historical photographs, maps and documents, employing them in prints, installations and tapestry. She turns to the idea of place as the transformative site of hybridity that offers alternative strategies for and models of representation within the post-colonial.
Jess Atieno was born in 1991 in Nairobi, Kenya. After training at the Asiko School of Art in Lagos, Nigeria, Jess Atieno has graduated with an MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA in 2021. She currently lives and works in Chicago, USA. Atieno also founded the Nairobi Print Project, an open source online library for artistic and curatorial research informed by African colonial and diaspora histories. The library will be the first of its kind in the region.
