Galerie Cécile Fakhoury presents Jess Atieno’s solo exhibition ’Odyssey’, on display until April 27th.

Jess Atieno, a Kenyan artist born in 1991, is based in Nairobi and Chicago. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is a former student of Asiko Art School. Atieno’s art has been exhibited internationally, including at the Bamako Biennial in Mali and the Lagos Biennial in Nigeria. Her works are part of prestigious collections like The Rockefeller Foundation, Alfred Taubman Foundation, Africana Art Foundation, and Red Hill Art Gallery Collection.

Atieno’s work explores themes of place, belonging, and home, using photographic archives and archival imagery. The exhibition features old postcards, documents, and maps, subtly integrated as watermarks, highlighting the historical processes of identity, land, and image dispossession during the colonial period.

Atieno employs fragmentation and collage to create a poetic interpretation of the images, offering unspoken narratives independent of the original archives. Her artistic techniques involve digital remediation and augmentation, resulting in a complex, multi-sensory experience. She also explores the impact of colonial photographic archives on contemporary times and advocates for alternative representation strategies in the postcolonial context.

Galerie Cécile Fakhoury promotes contemporary African and Diaspora art through curated exhibitions, international art fairs, and partnerships. It showcases artists influenced by cultural identities, crafting unique language that transcends geographical boundaries. These artists encourage reassessment of world views and connections.

Source: Galerie Cécile Fakhoury