Julianknxx (Freetown, Sierra Leone, 1987) is a poet and visual artist whose practice explores themes of inheritance, loss and belonging. He draws on his personal experiences to broaden perspectives on the history and culture of Africa and its diaspora. Through his work, Julianknxx expresses the feeling of existing in-between spaces, challenging fixed ideas of identity and grand historical narratives.

‘Chorus in Rememory of Flight’ (2023-2025) is a cinematic portrayal of the Black experience. Spanning 6,500 kilometers, over the course of one year, Julianknxx travelled to nine European cities with colonial histories, in each of them collaborating with artists, musicians and choirs from the Black communities. Following a ‘listening practice’ that draws from African traditions of oral history, his exchanges are woven together like a chorus of individual, local and global perspectives. The result is a compelling encounter with Europe’s past and present, and the possibility that lies in its future.

The Lisbon chapter is held by the evocative sentence ‘Learning How to Wear Black Under the Sun’, deriving from Julianknxx’s encounter with the musician Oseias Xavier, who appeared fully dressed in black under the hot Lisbon sun. It includes two new works going deeper into the realities of our city, and the many untold story it holds

At CAM, ‘Chorus in Rememory of Flight’ is expanded through the contribution of some of Julianknxx’s close collaborators in Lisbon, such as a newly commissioned work by Tristany Mundu. Jesualdo Lopes, Paulo Pascoal, Rafael de Oliveira and Selma Uamusse have co-curated a public programme celebrating Lisbon’s Black communities. A partnership with BANTUMEN, an online platform reflecting Black culture in Portuguese speaking countries, will unravel further stories.

‘Chorus in Rememory of Flight’ has been co-commissioned by the Barbican and WePresent by WeTransfer in partnership with Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, with support from 180 Studios and De Singel.

Source: CAM Gulbenkian