East, London
Josèfa Ntjam
Limestone Memories – Un Maquis Sous Les Étoiles
Nicoletti ContemporaryNicoletti is delighted to present Limestone Memories – Un Maquis Sous Les Étoiles, the second solo exhibition by Josèfa Ntjam at the gallery. Comprising sculpture, photomontage and film, Limestone Memories – Un Maquis Sous Les Étoiles [a maquis under the stars] pursues Ntjam’s exploration of outer space and the abyss as spaces of resistance. Within an immersive, cave-like environment inhabited by gigantic tentacles, glitching bubbles and termite mounds, the artist establishes analogies between cosmic, geological and mental processes, weaving references to biology, African mythology and science-fiction to rework History from personal and minoritarian narratives. Josèfa Ntjam (1992, Metz, FR) currently lives and works in Saint-Étienne, FR. Solo exhibitions include Fondation Pernod-Ricard, Paris (2023, forthcoming); Underground Resistance – Living Memories, The Photographers’ Gallery, London (2022); When the Moon Dreamed of the Ocean, Fact, Liverpool (2022); and we’ll kill them with love, CAC La Traverse, Alfortville (2022); Molecular Genealogies, Nicoletti, London (2021); and Allegoria, duo show with Kaeto Sweeney, Hordaland Art Center, Bergen, No (2019). Ntjam’s work and performances have been shown in international museums and exhibitions, including Lafayette Anticipations, Paris, FR (performance, 2023); LUMA, Arles, FR (performance, 2022); Centre Pompidou, Metz, FR (2022); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, NL (performance, 2022); MAMC+ – Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Etienne, FR (2022); Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, USA (2022); Radius CCA, Delft, NL (2022); Mucem, Marseille, FR (2021); Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, PT (2022), Africamuseum, Tervuren, BE (2022–23); Frac Nouvelle-Aquitaine MÉCA, Bordeaux, FR (2021), MuCAT – Musée des Cultures Contemporaines Adama Toungara, Abidjan, IC (2022); Palais de Tokyo, Paris, FR (2020–21); Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR (2020); WIELS, Brussels, BE (2020); MAMA, Rotterdam, NE (2020); the 15th Biennale de Lyon, MAC Lyon, Lyon, FR (2019); and Arnolfini, Bristol, UK (2019). In 2023, Ntjam will be a resident at LVMH Métiers d’Arts. Ntjam is a member of Paris-based art & research collective Black(s) to the Future: https://blackstothefuture.com/ Her work is part of a number of public collections, including MAMC+ – Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Etienne, FR; Centre national des arts plastiques (Cnap), Paris, FR; Fonds d’art contemporain – Paris Collections, FR; Fondation Villa Datris, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, FR; FRAC MECA Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux, FR; FRAC Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, FR; FRAC Alsace, Sélestat, FR; EIB Institute, Luxemburg; and Artothèque de Strasbourg, FR.