Julianknxx
:
Chorus in Rememory of Flight
It is with honor and pleasure that Metro54 opens the year with a thought-provoking exhibition by poet, artist, and filmmaker Julianknxx, accompanied by a public program that offers a melody to Black diasporic life.
The project marks the start of Metro54’s multi-year program, Seasons of Diasporic Life, that zooms into Black diasporic cultural practices and the ways artists and cultural producers address, document, reflect deeply or imagine otherwise the urgency of Black social life and realities in Fortress Europe.
Julianknxx is a visual artist and poet based in London, whose artistic practice is rooted in poetry, which is the foundation for his cinematographic work as well as his collaborative performances.
At Metro54, “Chorus in Rememory of Flight manifests itself as two immersive cinematographic environments that offer an intimate pathway to diasporic stories and everyday histories. "Chorus in Rememory of Flight, which is not only the title of the show but also a work that weaves together through a music and poetic refrain different diasporic choirs and voices that narrate personal anecdotes, migratory histories of their diasporic communities.
As a homage to the city, where this project of Julianknxx began in 2021, he created a new work: "And if a tree sees it all". This video installation is a poetic, cinematographic reflection on memory-making, communal archiving, and witnessing. "De boom die alles zag" ("The tree which saw everything") has been a silent witness since the Bijlmermeer disaster 30 years ago, and serves as a powerful symbol of resilience and collective mourning in Amsterdam Southeast.
Next to the two cinematographic works this show consists of performances, film screening and conversations which will be hosted in collaboration with partner organizations such as Buro Stedelijk and Bijlmer Park Theater.
If you would like to attend the opening with a poetic offering by poet, artist and researcher Quinsy Gario, please rsvp via rsvp@metro54.nl.
🔥Opening Date: Friday 22 March 2024
🔥Time: 6pm - 9pm
🔥Location: Westerdoksdijk 597
🔥Entrance: Free
The project is on show from the 23rd of March 2024 until the 1st of June 2024, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, at Metro54, Westerdoksdijk 597, Amsterdam.
The exhibition is supported by Mondriaan Fonds and has been co-commissioned by the Barbican and WePresent by WeTransfer in partnership with Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, with support from 180 Studios and De Singel.
About Julianknxx:
Julianknxx is a poet, artist and filmmaker.
The polyphonic nature of Julianknxx’s work is indicative of his expansive practice, which is rooted in poetry but extends into performance, film, music and sculpture. Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Julianknxx draws on his personal experiences to broaden perspectives on the history and culture of Africa and its diasporas. Inspired by oral history traditions and working with a distinctive aesthetic approach, his films invite us to consider how we construct both local and global narratives, while reflecting on how it feels to exist in liminal spaces.