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1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London

Past viewing_room
7 - 12 October 2020
  • The African Journey - PATHS

    Presenting a solo showcase of master Ugandan artist Sanaa Gateja at 1-54 London. Sanaa shows for the first time, his 6 panel work titled 'Paths', depicting the journey of  the world's largest continent and the Mother of Mankind, Africa.
     
    In these works, Sanaa tells a story of human experiences from across the continent, celebrating and recording paths that lead to various destinies along the way. He believes all journeys have a purpose and influence, ranging from nomadic existence, immigration, exploration, trade, even the most horrific of all journeys - wars and slave trade and thus, make up the most profound of all human stories, The Great Continent's Great Story.
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Paths 1 - Woman Untitled I, 2020
      Sanaa Gateja, Paths 1 - Woman Untitled I, 2020
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Paths 2 - Woman Untitled II, 2020
      Sanaa Gateja, Paths 2 - Woman Untitled II, 2020
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Paths 3 - Big Leap, 2020
      Sanaa Gateja, Paths 3 - Big Leap, 2020
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Paths 4 - Council, 2020
      Sanaa Gateja, Paths 4 - Council, 2020
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Paths 5 - Units, 2020
      Sanaa Gateja, Paths 5 - Units, 2020
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Paths 6 - Far Beyond, 2020
      Sanaa Gateja, Paths 6 - Far Beyond, 2020
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  • The paper bead, which he’s mostly known for, and introduced in Uganda in 1990, not only responds to the subject of recycling but offers sustainable incomes to thousands of local women across the country.
  • SANAA GATEJA (born 1950) is a Ugandan multi-disciplinary artist who studied as a goldsmith in London, and whose works are...
    SANAA GATEJA (born 1950) is a Ugandan multi-disciplinary artist who studied as a goldsmith in London, and whose works are a combination of installation, tapestry, and sculpture. Heavily influenced by the potters, blacksmiths, and basket weavers in the village he grew up in, Gateja is a self-taught visual artist. Gateja creates intricate works which reference indigenous art practices like weaving and stitching. His work is textured as a metaphor for the different personal and societal experiences: present and past.

     

    • Sanaa Gateja, Another life, 2018
      Sanaa Gateja, Another life, 2018
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Home is best, 2020
      Sanaa Gateja, Home is best, 2020
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Truth Is Gold II, 2017
      Sanaa Gateja, Truth Is Gold II, 2017
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Addressed, 2018
      Sanaa Gateja, Addressed, 2018
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    • Sanaa Gateja, The Golden tortoise, 2020
      Sanaa Gateja, The Golden tortoise, 2020
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Together, 2019
      Sanaa Gateja, Together, 2019
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  • A social commentator, Gateja works with bark cloth, paper raffia, beads, wood, and banana fibre to construct these large, textured...
    A social commentator, Gateja works with bark cloth, paper raffia, beads, wood, and banana fibre to construct these large, textured artworks that respond to the subject of nature and materiality. His art fits appropriately within the global consciousness of contemporary times that highly regards the environment and its preservation, as his work ethic involves working with organic and synthetic material.
    • Sanaa Gateja, Power, 2018
      Sanaa Gateja, Power, 2018
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Protection, 2019
      Sanaa Gateja, Protection, 2019
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    • Sanaa Gateja, VIP Prof, 2017
      Sanaa Gateja, VIP Prof, 2017
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    • Sanaa Gateja, Immigrant, 2019
      Sanaa Gateja, Immigrant, 2019
  • All journeys have a purpose and influence. Either nomadic existence, immigration, exploration, trade, and in recent times, the most horrific of all journeys, wars and slave trade, on such a large scale that it has left the continent and its people scared and unsettled. All these and many more factors, numerous as they may be, make up the most profound of all human stories in a large format, The Great Continent’s Great Story.
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