An impression that may possibly last forever

Rapture, 2022 - Acrylic on Canvas, 80x60cm, Courtesy l'artista e T293, Roma

“An impression that may possibly last forever”. We couldn’t have thought of a better title to express our feelings after visiting the small but beautiful exhibition dedicated to Kenyan artist Chemutai Ng’ok at Fondazione ICA in Milan, not far from the renowned Fondazione Prada.

So why would this impression last? It is true that you can never forget the impact of encountering an artist’s work in person for the first time. But there is also an undeniable strength that emerges from Chemutai Ng'ok’s artworks. A strength that is both delicate and violent.

When looking at this series of paintings and drawings, you are first struck by an abstract interweaving of lines with pastel colors, that looks very harmonious and calm. Silhouettes are dancing and floating on the canvas. Then, getting closer, you see bodies, faces without eyes coming together in a powerful combination. Those bodies may seem silent at first, but after a little while, it feels as if they wanted to scream. One painting literally features a face with an open mouth, expelling a group of people. What is being expelled, screamed, shouted out? A certain violence unfolds from the artworks, an uncanny feeling of resistance and rebellion. Chemutai Ng’ok paintings recall those dreams that in a minute turn into nightmares… Remember?

Chemutai Ng'ok, Installation view of "An impression that may possibly last forever", curated by Chiara Nuzzi, 2023, Courtesy Fondazione ICA Milano, T293 and the artist. Picture © Andrea Rossetti

Ten paintings were produced by Chemutai Ng’ok especially for this exhibition curated by Chiara Nuzzi. They create such an interesting dialogue with the raw space of ICA, which by the way confirms its interesting programming (see our earlier Instagram story on the great Simone Fattal for example). You want to navigate among those paintings, and listen to what they have to say. Unexpectedly, one of the most powerful parts of the exhibition is a series of 12 drawings in dark blue ink on white paper, although it is barely visible when you enter the room - the drawings are unframed, simply pinned directly to the wall. Looking closer, you see evanescent, nearly random lines made out of ink. They create a mysterious movement that soon becomes a gathering of bodies, dancing, running, escaping, struggling. It is hard to believe that there is so much expression in such light and simple lines. It is almost nothing but it says everything: our need to be together, our need of a community, our need to dream, to dance, to touch, to speak and sing. Freedom against oppression.

Ivy Brandie Chemutai Ng’ok was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1989, and she is still based in her native city. Her work is inspired by her personal experience as a Black Kenyan woman and the context surrounding her, especially recent political events in Kenya and the legacy of colonialism. She is thus interested in human relationships and the effects of power. Each and every painting in fact provokes a crescendo of emotions and tensions. Ng'ok makes our human complexities visible, between dreams and reality, between life and death.

As stated by Chiara Nuzzi, curator of the show: “Ng'ok thus fathoms the psyche in an attempt to address and alleviate trauma, both at personal and collective level: in this way the representation of the oppressed highlights not only the cultural, political and social effects, but also the psychological consequences of colonial domination over populations."

Sometimes images seem to have a voice. Chemutai Ng’ok invites us to listen, to look closer, to pay attention. She reaches out to our souls, to our shared humanity. Out of her paintings and drawings emerges an impression that, indeed, may possibly last forever.

Chemutai Ng'ok, Installation views of "An impression that may possibly last forever", curated by Chiara Nuzzi, 2023, Courtesy Fondazione ICA Milano, T293 and the artist. Pictures © Andrea Rossetti