I like them, they’re nice at Nir Altman

Artists: Paul Maheke, Rebecca Ackroyd, Ndayé Kouagou

Exhibition title: I like them, they’re nice

In cooperation with: Peres Projects, Berlin and Galerie Sultana, Paris

Venue: Nir Altman, Munich, Germany

Date: September 12 – October 17, 2020

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists, Nir Altman, Munich, Peres Projects, Berlin and Galerie Sultana, Paris

No need for a wall, it’s a garden. No need for a roof, it’s a garden. No need for much, it’s a garden. One person will build the foundation and the other one will build the furniture and I’ll do the rest. No concrete for our foundation but a constantly moving presence, to welcome you and anyone who wanna join.

A nice place for a conversation or maybe THE conversation, with a perfect cast, why them you ask? Because I like them, they’re nice. – Ndayé Kouagou

The exhibition takes the personal connection between people as a starting point, from where space, experience and meaning are constructed. Each of the three artists individually deals with transporting internally formed questions and concerns to an external environment, within which the personal narrative becomes part of a larger context:

Paul Maheke’s approach extends from working with his own body to a general conception of the body as archive and echo. From this metaphorical perspective, he explores identity politics, especially in regard to queerness and blackness.

Rebecca Ackroyd works in drawing, installation and sculpture. She transmits personally experienced urges and fears, such as the need for belonging or the fear of the unknown into ambiguous atmospheres, where these intimate feelings resonate with a public and each visitor individually.

Ndayé Kouagou takes a similar interest in core emotions. In his performance and speech-based practice, he combines tales of the everyday with existential thought. With a strong sense of humor, his body of work tackles the very essence of being.

In this show, all three artists engage in a mutual act of world-making enticing the visitor to finalize the art.

Text: Tatjana Schaefer

I like them, they’re nice, 2020, exhibition view, Nir Altman, Munich

Ndayé Kouagou, I truly advise you of becoming a loser (detail), 2020, Plexiglas, epoxy resin, maps, 140x100x2 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Nir Altman

Ndayé Kouagou, I truly advise you of becoming a loser, 2020, Plexiglas, epoxy resin, maps, 140x100x2 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Nir Altman

Ndayé Kouagou, The most annoying thing there is! (detail), 2020 epoxy, resin, taxi fare receipt, 42x33x3 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Nir Altman, Munich

Ndayé Kouagou, The most annoying thing there is!, 2020 epoxy, resin, taxi fare receipt, 42x33x3 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Nir Altman, Munich

Paul Maheke, A Fire Circle For A Public Hearing & In Me Everything Is Already Flowing, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Sultana, Paris

Paul Maheke, A Fire Circle For A Public Hearing, 2018 Silent HD video on a vertical screen (loop) 22.51 min, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Sultana, Paris

Paul Maheke, In Me Everything Is Already Flowing; Ndayé Kouagou, I truly advise you of becoming a loser, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Sultana, Paris

Paul Maheke, In Me Everything Is Already Flowing, 2016, Digital print on burnt fabric stretched on a frame, dried flowers 155x125x206 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Sultana, Paris

Paul Maheke, A Fire Circle For A Public Hearing, 2018 Silent HD video on a vertical screen (loop) 22.51 min, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Sultana, Paris

Paul Maheke, In Me Everything Is Already Flowing (detail), 2016, Digital print on burnt fabric stretched on a frame, dried flowers, 155x125x206 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Sultana, Paris

Paul Maheke, In Me Everything Is Already Flowing, 2016, Digital print on burnt fabric stretched on a frame, dried flowers, 155x125x206 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Sultana, Paris