Cuban-American artist Coco Fusco presents her first major retrospective entitled “Coco Fusco – Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island” in Germany. This unique art exhibition takes place at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art and highlights the profound influence her work has had on the discourse of contemporary art in Germany and worldwide. Until January 7, 2024, Coco Fusco invites visitors to explore the various stages of her artistic practice, which spans from the 1990s to the present day.
Born in 1960 in the United States, Coco Fusco is a committed contemporary artist whose voice has played a decisive role for over three decades in the fields of feminism, postcolonial theory, discourses on racial representation and institutional critique. She has been a leading figure in discussions of social, cultural and political issues in America and beyond.
In the 1980s, she distinguished herself as a pioneer of multiculturalism in the arts, expressing her revolutionary and humanist vision through artistic media such as performance, video, archival research and writing. Her aim was to provoke reflection and awareness of how intercultural relations and colonial histories influence the construction of identity and perceptions of cultural difference.
The exhibition “Coco Fusco – Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island” will present a wide selection of texts, videos, photographs, installations and live performances by the activist artist, spanning the 1990s to the present day. Through these works, Coco Fusco invites the public to discover the captivating journey of her artistic life. Her art critically examines society from a postcolonial perspective, engaging in debates on cultural policies across America, Europe and beyond. She also questions the institutional infrastructures that govern the presentation, circulation and value of art, as well as visual culture in a plural sense.
This bold approach to art and its relevance are highlighted through a wide range of works addressing themes such as racial stereotypes, military interrogation, post-revolutionary Cuba, feminist politics, sex tourism and ethnographic exhibitions.
The KW Institute for Contemporary Art will be pleased to highlight Coco Fusco‘s artistic relevance and engagement with current political and cultural debates in Germany. The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive monograph of Coco Fusco‘s work, published by Thames & Hudson in collaboration with Julia Bryan-Wilson, Anna Gritz, Jill Lane, Antonio José Ponte and the artist herself. In addition to this rich and captivating artistic program, Coco Fusco will conceive a new multimedia performance to be staged in collaboration with Sophiensaele in early December 2023.
