Tiwani Contemporary Lagos inaugurates its artistic program by welcoming contemporary artist Délio Jasse for a unique photographic exhibition dubbed “Caducado”. Until April 20, 2024, this dedicated art space will present exclusive images and installations by the artist, offering the public and visual art enthusiasts a glimpse into his creative world and artistic practice.
Born in Luanda, Angola, in 1980, Délio Jasse currently lives and works in Milan, Italy. For “Caducado“, he unveils eight series of photographic installations created between 2014 and 2023. These images, captured by the artist, testify to his attachment to early associative photographic processes and modes of printing, exploring the materiality and genesis of the image. They address themes such as the origin of images, the dynamics of the gaze, random architectural and civic narratives, and subjectivity.
The title of the exhibition, “Caducado“, comes from the eponymous Portuguese expression, also the name of his latest series of cyanotype works from 2023, Caducado and Series Registo. This appellation symbolizes the ephemeral, expiration and temporary-use elements such as identity documents and personal objects, abandoned “archives” that he recovers from flea markets. By selecting group portraits dating from the early to mid-twentieth century, the Luanda-based artist gives new life to these images, sparking the imagination as to their former owners.
Through a process of re-imagining the images, Délio Jasse reconstructs the figures and proposes new perspectives through the use of stamp motifs or superimposed graphics, creating new encounters with these visual documents. Works such as Es Se Mais Mundo Houvera (2021) and Sem Valor (2019) share similar stylistic approaches, exploring textile and Fabriano paper.
The contemporary artist also offers ephemeral representations of the bustling port city of Luanda, Angola, through series such as Terreno Ocupado (2014), Series Urban Landscape (2017), Multi Business (2018) and Cidade em movimento (2016). These works capture the daily life, instability, economic abundance and resilience of the inhabitants in the face of the increasing urbanization of post-colonial and commercial architecture.
Participating in the inaugural Lagos Biennale “Living on the Edge” in 2017, the artist has since taken part in numerous group and solo exhibitions. Recent participations include: A World in Common, Tate Modern, London, UK, 2023 (group); Stratificazioni, Art Noble Gallery, Milan, Italy, 2023 (group); Trace – Formations of Resemblance. Photography and video from The Walther Collection, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany, 2023 (group); Beauty and terror: sites of colonialism and fascism, Madre, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina, Naples, Italy, 2022 (group); Shifting Dialogues: Photography from The Walther Collection, K21 Kunstsammlung, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2022 (group); E22 – Hacking Identity, Dancing Diversity, Möllerei / Esch-Belval, Luxembourg, 2022 (group); Città Foresta, SRISA, Florence, Italy, 2022 (solo); Europa, Oxalá, Mucem, Marseille, France, 2022 (group), among others.
Through the exhibition “Caducado“, Délio Jasse offers a captivating journey through history, memory and the re-imagining of photographic images. The artist invites us to explore the materiality of the image and rethink our relationship to visual archives, while offering unique perspectives on universal themes such as ephemerality, identity and urbanization. An enriching artistic experience at the Tiwani Contemporary Lagos that bears witness to the talent and creativity of the contemporary artist.
