Ivy Kalungi

About

In this solo exhibition titled ‘New trail, old stories,’ artist Ivy Kalungi presents work developed on residency at FACT, an opportunity she was awarded after graduating from Liverpool Hope University earlier this year. The exhibition takes the form of an immersive installation, including a four-channel video of archival materials and sculptures. Kalungi’s work in this show focuses on contemporary traces of memory, collective memory, and uses storytelling as a starting point for inspiration. Using her personal experience of belonging to the African diaspora, the artist held two workshops at FACT to explore these themes. The responses that came out of those gatherings (which circled around the idea of storytelling and how to sustain collective memory) prompted her to ask the following questions about respectful archiving: ‘How do we make meaning from the past?’ and ‘How can we sustain it?’ The workshops, as well as individual research, and conversations on story, object, memory and experiences have informed the show she now presents at OUTPUT gallery. 

    The exhibition explores the potential of transitional spaces. 'New trail, old stories’ investigates collective history and memory with city and village culture in Kalerwe just outside the city of Kampala. The videos reflect personal, environmental and shared experiences within the community from the late 1950’s onwards. Kalungi writes, ‘I am interested in transitional spaces for example windows, doors and the framework of structures. The experiences of cultural displacement have opened my eyes to the idea of these spaces connecting yet separating, trying to erase certain borders that limit identities being brought together. I am open to looking at the world through a different lens, listening to people’s stories, journeys and shared experiences. For me it’s being able to connect to a place, object or person.’