09.07.2025 – 02.11.2025
The large-scale new solo exhibition by Ibrahim Mahama, which will be shown on the first floor of the MuseumsQuartier location, brings together a completely new group of commissioned works, including sculptures, photographs and videos.
Mahama refers to the material legacy of colonialism, post-colonialism and industrialisation in Ghana. The central element of the exhibition is the realisation of a long-standing project: the deconstruction, transport and presentation of a full-size diesel locomotive in combination with numerous enamelled iron vessels – so-called ‘headpans’ – which serve as a supporting structure for the locomotive. These headpans are a common vessel used in Ghana to transport goods and materials. Mahama collected thousands of these bowls by exchanging new ones for used ones. The damaged, rusted and dented objects are evidence of intensive use. Stacked under the train, they carry a locomotive, which can be understood as another type of vessel.
An accompanying photographic series shows the physical wear and tear caused by wearing the headpans every day. This includes over 100 X-ray images of spinal deformities. These images are framed in a metal frame, which in turn was taken from the train. At once a symbol and system of colonial and capitalist exploitation, Mahama’s critique presents the railway as an infrastructure that was literally built on the backs of the Ghanaian people.
The exhibition is Ibrahim Mahama’s first solo exhibition in Austria.
Ibrahim Mahama: Zilijifa
09.07.2025 – 02.11.2025
Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier
Museumsplatz 1
1070 Vienna
www.kunsthallewien.at
