FOMU | ‘Her Voice – Echoes of Chantal Akerman’ and ‘James Barnor, Studio of Life’ exhibitions

At the end of October, FOMU, Antwerp‘s photography museum, opened two exhibitions: ‘Her Voice – Echoes of Chantal Akerman‘ and ‘James Barnor – Studio of Life‘. Both run to 10 March 2024.

Thanh took me to the opening.

Chantal Akerman

The group exhibition ‘Her Voice – Echoes of Chantal Akerman’ presents photographic and video works by seven contemporary artists inspired by the work of Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman (1950-2015). Manon de Boer, Moyra Davey, Gabby Laurent, Frida Orupabo, Joanna Piotrowska, Collier Schorr and Carmen Winant explore what it means today to be a woman, artist, mother, daughter and lover.

“I haven’t tried to find a compromise between myself and others, I have thought that the more particular I am, the more I address the general”, Chantal Akerman once said.

“Akerman remains just as potent an inspiration to artists as she ever was. Her voice is both powerful and inquiring. For her work, Akerman drew on personal experiences and on her reflections about sex, family, trauma, intimacy and oppression”, FOMU says.

“Her radically vulnerable approach was groundbreaking for the 1970s’ film and art worlds. It was seen as feminist – and fifty years later, its relevance has not diminished. Just last year, her feminist masterpiece ‘Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles‘ (1975) was named the best film of all time by the British Film Institute.”

‘Her Voice brings’ together new and recent work by seven leading artists. Certain of them, including Manon de Boer and Moyra Davey, reference specific works and specific ideas that have influenced their own work. Collier Schorr translates Akerman’s sensual film ‘Je, tu, il, elle‘ (1974) into a ballet in which she reveals herself to an audience for the first time.

Carmen Winant presents a new installation that focuses on her relationship with her mother, a theme that Akerman repeatedly explored. Other references are more implicit.

Joanna Piotrowska creates a psychologically charged work about family dynamics and domestic oppression. And Frida Orupabo and Gabby Laurent provide a contemporary response to the feminist issues raised by Akerman’s films. ‘Her Voice’ shows us that the idiosyncratic filmmaker’s radical ideas and feminist critique live on in contemporary art.

Film screenings

As part of this exhibition, Cinema Lumière is screening several films by Chantal Akerman and other artists. On 23 February 2024, FOMU is organising a museum late in collaboration with the feminist art collective Dis Mon Nom. Akerman’s work and legacy is also being celebrated in other locations, including at the Contour Biënnale (Mechelen) and at Argos (Brussels). BOZAR and Cinematek (Brussels) are hosting a retrospective in the spring of 2024.

James Barnor

‘James Barnor – Studio of Life’ offers an overview of James Barnor‘s (born in Ghana in 1929) remarkable career. His multifaceted and powerful images made him a photography pioneer. This exhibition not only showcases Barnor’s rich and diverse body of work but also examines the cultural connections between Accra, London and Antwerp.

In 1949, Barnor launched his photography studio Ever Young in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. It grew into a pivotal meeting place for young Ghanaians who longed for freedom from British colonial rule.

From 1951, Barnor also became one of his country’s first local photojournalists. His studio work and street photography captured the pride and exuberance of a vibrant city on the cusp of independence, obtained in 1957.

In 1959, Barnor left for the United Kingdom. The images taken in the following decade provide a rare glimpse into the social life of the Black diaspora. It is in the UK that he discovers the possibilities of colour photography. From 1960, he perfected his skills at the Medway College of Art and later worked at the Colour Processing Laboratories in Kent.

As a lifestyle photographer for the South African magazine Drum, his glamorous portraits of Black models graced the popular magazine’s covers.

In 1969, Barnor spent several months in Belgium. In Mortsel, near Antwerp, at the Agfacolorschool, he is introduced to the unique development process of Agfa-Gevaert.

After a decade which saw his artistry and craftsmanship flourish, he returned to Ghana in 1970. He opened the country’s first commercial colour-processing laboratory in Accra and became a representative for Agfa-Gevaert.

Three years later, Barnor opened Studio X23, through which he encapsulated the colourful and tumultuous spirit of the 1970s and 1980s in Ghana. In these decades Barnors passion for music becomes increasingly present in his work. His portraits of Highlife musicians become iconic record sleeves and he is manager of his own band, Fee Hii. Barnor moves back to London in 1994, where he lives today.

“In recent years, Barnor’s work has received increasing international attention for its unique insight into a crucial era of the 20th century. ‘James Barnor – Studio of Life provides’ a retrospective of the photographer’s exceptional trajectory, and of a long underrepresented perspective of modern world history, FOMU says.