The exhibition brings together compelling archival photo and film material shot 35 years ago in the fishing village of Aby in Ivory Coast, West Africa. The greeting “Amanié” (meaning “what’s new?” in Agni, the language spoken in Aby) can also include the sharing of nightly dreams.
New York University’s Kimmel Windows Galleries presents Amanié, What's New? a photography and video exhibition by Carlos de Jesus and Claude Oudey, curated by Lydie Diakhaté on view at street-level at NYU’s Kimmel Center for University Life, through October 18, 2017. Amanié, What's New? is on display 24/7 at 60 Washington Square South. [Subways: A/C/E/B/D/F/M to West 4th Street; 6 to Astor Place; R to 8th Street]
The exhibition is free and open to the public and can be viewed simply by walking past the vitrines located on LaGuardia Place and West 3rd Street. For more information, please see the Kimmel Galleries’ Facebook page.
life around the lagoon 35mm, 1980
tell me your dreams 35 mm, 1980
“I perceive this family saga, which unfolds as the viewer walks along the sidewalks of Greenwich Village, as a ‘folk tale’,” comments curator Lydie Diakhaté. “I wanted to bring the viewer through the infinite circle of life, from birth to death. As you walk along 3rd Street or LaGuardia Place, the narrative flows back and forth through the 13 windows. However, each window can also be seen individually as one story.”
“Almost four decades after Carlos’ and Claude’s journey, they are bringing these archival images into the present moment,” said Pamela Jean Tinnen, curator for Kimmel Galleries. “Diakhaté decided to avoid the idea of taking history as a nostalgic and frozen space and instead created for the viewer an atemporal space that allows for a new vision, which addresses the continuing dialogue about the principles of life, the effects of colonialism, and the ties of love and memory that bind between continents. The project’s purpose is to invite the viewer to share what French philosopher Edouard Glissant called the ‘emotions of the diversity of the world.’”
In 1980, equipped with various cameras – 35 mm, Polaroid and a Super 8mm – Carlos de Jesus accompanied his friend Claude Oudey, who left his home in Paris, France and flew to Africa to meet his grandmother for the very first time.
Many years before, a Frenchman arrived in her village of Aby to manage a French plantation. Claude’s grandmother had two children by this man, a boy and a girl. When he left the country to return to France, this man took his daughter with him; she was two years old. Claude’s grandmother — his Nana — had no news of her child for many years, until her grandson resolved to bring his mother back to her birthplace, to find her family and to renew contact with the everyday life of her natal village.
This project was supported by grants from: The New York University Arts Council; the NYU Tisch Initiative for Creative Research; the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; and Michael S. DiLonardo, DDS. Special Thanks: Professor Shelley Rice, for planting the seed. For all press and sales inquiries, please contact Ms. Tinnen: Pamela.Jean.Tinnen@nyu.edu or 212.998.4950.
About the Kimmel Galleries: Established in 2003, Kimmel Galleries are dedicated to providing visually dynamic and thought provoking exhibitions. They are free and open to the public. For more information on tours, the artists or price inquiries, please contact the Curator, Pamela Jean Tinnen, at 212 298 4950, or pamela.jean.tinnen@nyu.edu.
Past exhibitions include: Patterns of Interest: photography by Stephen Mallon; HOUSE: HOME; Field Season: records, wandering perspectives, side notes, a selection of photographs from Abydos, by Greg Maka, Amanda Kirkpatrick and Gus Gusciora; Preconceived Notions; and Perspectives: A photography exhibit about traveling and living in our world; DITTO: WORKS IN BLUE, Shira Toren, among others.