GLEAN (EN) 6, Winter 2024

GLEAN 6 is out, featuring Collectif Picha as Guest Editor, interviews with Gabi Ngcobo and Andrei Molodkin, a City Report on Athens, a new Artist Edition by Maryam Najd, and much more!

Guest Editor: Collectif Picha
Our Guest Editor for this issue is Collectif Picha, a cultural and artistic association from Lubumbashi, DR Congo. Their contribution is both intellectually rigorous and deeply rooted in the local context. They invited Elisha Iragi to interview Picha members Alexandre Mulongo, Sammy Baloji, Jean Katambayi and Brigitte Mbaz to explore the impact of the 8th Lubumbashi Bienniale. The curatorial themes of the Biennale are further elaborated in a contribution by Costa Tshinzam, in particular the legacy of the Congolese philosopher and writer Valentin-Yves Mudimbe, who provided the conceptual point of departure for this edition. The section concludes with a visual essay by Roger Peet, Toshie Takeuchi and Sixte Kakinda based on an artistic conversation around the (now inactive) Shinkolobwe mine in the Haut-Katanga procince of DR Congo. Shinkolobwe 'contained the most powerful uranium ore found on earth' and 'was the source for the uranium used to develop the first atomic weapons' developed by the Manhattan Project. 

City Report Athens
Our new City Report is here! Athens is a city of contradictions, where the weight of its ancient past meets the strong pulse of a dynamic present. The city is not only defined by its history, but has become a vibrant center for contemporary art. The cliché that “Athens is the new Berlin” fails to capture the city's unique transformation. The neighborhoods of Metaxourgeio, Exarchia and Psirri buzz with energy, where graffiti-covered walls and vibrant cafes fuel a thriving art scene. From global events like documenta 14 to independent initiatives, Athens continues to reinvent itself, proving that adversity can be channeled into innovation and creativity. Some highlights from this City Report include the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) and a visual essay by the photographer Antonis Theodoridis.

Larissa Sansour at Amos Rex
In Helsinki the Palestinian Danish artist Larissa Sansour opened her first retrospective at Amos Rex, featuring works made between 2009 and 2022. In collaboration with filmmaker Søren Lind, Sansour confronts the ongoing loss of Palestinian people and the intertwined threat of environmental disaster. Blending science fiction, documentary and opera, Sansour reimagines the future as a place for resistance and healing through themes of memory and inherited trauma. Running through March 2025, this retrospective offers a timely and poignant reflection on past, present and possible futures. Read Evelyn Simons’' art review here.

Gabi Ngcobo
Last September, a new season of exhibitions opened at Kunstinstituut Melly, marking the start of the art centre’s new programme under the direction of Gabi Ngcobo. These new shows – including solos by Cihad Caner, Jabu Arnell and Nolan Oswald Dennis – demonstrate a vision that goes beyond global engagement; Ngcobo also wants to remind Rotterdam of its own unique spirit and place in the world. Her curatorial approach highlights personal and collective histories and creates spaces for reflection and connection.

The Artist’s Library: Maja Daniels
In the Artist’s Library, we celebrate the world of books from writers and editors to designers and readers. In this issue, we explore Maja Daniels’ new book Gertrud. In 1667, a 12-year-old girl named Gertrud was accused of walking on water in Älvdalen, in northern Sweden, marking the start of the witch hunts in the region. In the interview with Els Roelandt, Daniels explains the suppressive cultural system that upheld the fiction of the nation-state. Through her photography, she reimagines Gertrud’s story, sparking a dialogue on witch-hunts, female resistance, and myth.

Studio Visits
We’re back with two local studio visits in this issue. Artist and writer Michaela Schweighofer visited Valérie Mannaerts’s studio in Molenbeek, where they explored their shared 'idea of spaces, collage, and creating a hybrid praxis.' Curator and art historian Elena Sorokina had an enriching conversation with Adrien Lucca, who explores light and pigments, posing the question, 'What if I can perceive the world in a non-human way?' Complementing the writers’ contributions, both artists’ studios were beautifully captured by photographers Tom Van Hee and Dries Segers.

… and more!
GLEAN 6 is brimming with a diverse and exciting range of content, including features on Andrei Molodkin, Wim Delvoye, and Marcel Duchamp, an essay by Nombuso Mathibela South Africa’s contemporary art scenes; a review of the exhibition 'Radical Software' at Mudam Luxembourg. Alongside the cover, Maryam Najd unpacks her research on censorship and resistance. And for those interested in mediation, we highlight the 4th-Space Meditation Center. Happy reading!