Southern Guild in Los Angeles is unveiling a captivating group exhibition entitled ‘Signifying the Impossible Song’ until 14 November. This dazzling retrospective brings together an impressive variety of works and media, highlighting 17 contemporary artists from diverse backgrounds, each bringing a singular creative practice to the exhibition.
Curated by Lindsey Raymond and Jana Terblanche, ‘Signifying the Impossible Song’ delights the senses and the mind, revealing the voices of artists such as Ange Dakouo (Mali), Bonolo Kavula (South Africa), Inga Somdyala (South Africa), Kamyar Bineshtarigh (Iran/South Africa), Lulama Wolf (South Africa), Moffat Takadiwa (Zimbabwe), Nandipha Mntambo (Eswatini/South Africa), Nthabiseng Kekana (South Africa), Oluseye (Nigeria/Canada), Patrick Bongoy (DRC), Roméo Mivekannin (Côte d’Ivoire/South Africa), Sanford Biggers (United States), Turiya Magadlela (South Africa), Usha Seejarim (South Africa), Zanele Muholi (South Africa), Zizipho Poswa (South Africa) and Zohra Opoku (Germany/Ghana).
‘Signifying the Impossible Song’ ventures to the heart of material culture, exploring the intimate narratives and knowledge that objects carry within them. The carefully orchestrated selection of works, including mixed media, found objects, assemblages, photographs, sculptures and paintings, highlights the collective work of deconstruction and the structural flaws of established political systems. A range of forces intertwine, oscillating between integration and disintegration, defiance and displacement. The cyclical rhythm that emerges suggests that the human project is an incessant process of creation and re-creation, a continuous dance between what is and what could be.
In ‘Signifying the Impossible Song’, Sanford Biggers pushes against the norms of representation, skilfully juxtaposing cultural symbols within his works from the Chimera and Codex series. Although each piece reveals a distinct visual language, they unite in a profound exploration of the physical and symbolic origins of myth. Sanford Biggers reinvents relics of the past-such as marble sculptures, African masks and American quilts-to question their meanings and interrogate the metaphors that surround them, elevating the artistic dialogue to essential reflections on identity and heritage.
Echoing this approach, Bonolo Kavula draws on the rich heritage of traditional Shweshwe fabric, inspired by a maternal dress, to create translucent tapestries. These works, meticulously crafted from discs of fabric arranged in geometric patterns, evoke collective narratives of heritage and identity. Through her creations, Bonolo Kavula conjures up imaginary worlds, nourished by memories of democracy, resistance and folklore, reinventing these narratives to transcend the limits of reality and offer a new perspective on our shared history.
In her poignant reinterpretation of a failed political pact, Inga Somdyala presents two rival South African flags as symbols of the tensions between the old and new orders. These flags, slumped to the ground, make up the colours of the post-1994 national flag, embodying both the hope and the tension of a unified rainbow nation. The installation illustrates the tragic conclusion of the struggle against apartheid, where a negotiated peace has failed to dismantle the racist structures that remain deeply embedded in society, inviting the viewer to reflect on the disconcerting truths that persist in the very fabric of the nation.
In the Hot Commodity series, Oluseye deploys neatly stacked vending machine totems containing emblematic elements of black culture. This bold work questions the way in which this culture is often reduced to a mere commodity, criticising the appropriation and commercialisation that surrounds it. Through a variety of objects – from hair to musical rhythms to a fictional detergent called Black Magic – Oluseye denounces the superficial treatment of black identity within popular culture, inviting the viewer to reflect on the depth and richness of this often misunderstood identity.
The human need to collect objects that carry meaning-whether spiritual, sentimental or cultural-is strongly evident in the works of Patrick Bongoy, Ange Dakouo, Turiya Magadlela, Usha Seejarim and Moffat Takadiwa. Each of these artists assembles disparate materials to give life to creations that remind us that the whole emerges from what was once fragmented.They explore the substrates and underlying layers of our perceptions, revealing how individual and collective histories intertwine to form a common narrative.
Usha Seejarim’s work Receptible, for example, stands out for its innovative use of grass brooms stacked in the shape of a pot. By combining weaving and winding techniques, she transforms this utilitarian object into a container charged with meaning. The piece evokes African and Afro-American customs, while transforming the broom into a symbol of femininity, domesticity and submission. In this way, the artist invites us to reconsider everyday objects, revealing their potential to embody complex narratives and challenge stereotypes.
The irony of Africa’s manifest wealth is revealed in the choices of recycled materials made by Patrick Bongoy, Ange Dakouo and Moffat Takadiwa. Through their works, composed of elements taken from everyday waste, these artists skilfully comment on the complexities of post-colonial economies, where subsistence often takes precedence over ecology. By integrating objects such as pieces of rubber and toothbrushes, they illustrate a process of re-articulation and reconstruction that is taking place in the countries of the South, while at the same time echoing the resonance of past injustices.
Their approach goes beyond simple recuperation; it is part of a critical reflection on our relationship with modernity and mass consumption, while celebrating the creativity that emerges from the stigma of history. These works are powerful testimonies to resilience, highlighting the potential of a future in which reuse and recycling are not just artistic acts, but also gestures of resistance and affirmation of a constantly evolving cultural identity.