Otobong Nkanga / Kunsthaus Bregenz

Otobong Nkanga (born in 1974 in Kano, Nigeria) is a visual and performance artist, who is based in Antwerp. Nkanga studied in Ile-Ife (Nigeria), Paris, and Amsterdam. International exhibitions she has participated in include the 58th Venice Biennale (2019), documenta 14 in Kassel (2017), Biennale of Sydney (2016), Berlin Biennale (2014), 14 Rooms in Basel (2014), and the Sharjah Biennial (2019, 2013 and 2005). For her solo exhibition at the Kunsthaus in Bregenz (Austria), Otobong Nkanga presents works that have been created in dialogue with the building’s architecture as well as the region and its industrial history. Otobong Nkanga’s exhibition tells the (hi)story of the elements earth and water. Nkanga uses the four floors of the museum as if they were different levels of the sea, so that the visitor experiences different installations. Otobong Nkanga calls them “Abyss” (ground floor), “Midnight”, “Twilight”, and “Sunlight” (third floor). Each floor features a large-scale tapestry depicting the en