Everything Is Connected

The Sharjah Biennial 16: Julian Knxx in conversation with Folasade Ologundudu

Light Work

On this episode I’m joined by Julian Knxx as we discuss his newly commissioned work presented for 16 edition of the Sharjah Biennial, elucidated through the curatorial theme, to carry. Asking questions such as, what does it mean to carry a home, a history, a language, a legacy, and a lineage.

Julianknxx’s work merges his poetic practice with films and performance; he engages in a form of existential inquiry that at once seeks to find ways of expressing the ineffable realities of human experiences while examining the structures through which we live.

In casting his own practice as a ‘living archive’ or an ‘history from below’, Julianknxx draws on West African traditions of oral history to reframe how we construct both local and global perspectives. He does this through a body of work that challenges fixed ideas of identity and unravels linear Western historical and socio-political narratives, attempting to reconcile how it feels to exist primarily in liminal spaces. 

In the episode, Julian reflects on his transition from poetry to incorporating film and performance in his artistic practice. He shares how influences from his West African heritage and personal experiences led him to explore new mediums that could encapsulate his narratives more holistically. He delves into his project for Sharjah Biennial 16, inspired by a dancer named Dorothée Munyaneza, who performed a ritual dance reflecting on her grandmother.

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