Installation Art – Republic of North Macedonia

A major solo exhibition of Ibrahim Mahama, the world-renowned Ghanaian artist, is being hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje. This is the artist's first exhibition in the country.

The artist's work takes the form of a large, site-specific installation on the museum's façade, spanning more than 1100 m2. Comprised of over a thousand jute bags, the installation wraps the building like a double skin. The jute bags are commonly used for transporting goods, primarily in the economies of the Global South. They reflect histories of labour and exchange, globalisation and migration, and economic inequalities.

Mahama’s work examines how personal narratives are embedded in matter and how architecture can function as a political mirror by stitching jute bags together and installing them over the architectural volume of the museum building.

Following the catastrophic earthquake in Skopje in 1963, the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje was founded in 1964 as a platform for artistic exchange and cultural collaboration. Mahama’s intervention renews the museum’s concept, affirming the role of art in society and its capacity to depict acts of human compassion within different spatial and historical contexts.

The museum exhibition has been curated by Nada Prlja and will be open until 14 November 2025.

Ibrahim Mahama was born in Tamale, Ghana, in 1987. He currently lives and works in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale. His selected solo exhibitions include, among others, the Barbican Centre, London (2024); the High Line, New York (2021); the 18^th International Venice Architecture Biennale (2023); the 35^th Bienal de São Paulo (2023); and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2020). Beyond his artistic practice, Mahama strives to redefine the role of art in society. In 2023, he was appointed Artistic Director of the 35^th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana.

Sources: https://www.msu.mk/exhibition/15999/

Photographs taken from: https://www.msu.mk/exhibition/15999/, https://www.whitecube.com/news/ibrahim-mahama-at-the-thailand-biennale

Photograph No 1: Mock-up of the installation on the Building of the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje. Courtesy of the artist, the APALAZZOGALLERY, and the Museum of Contemporary Art – Skopje, Photo: Wikiexpedition and MoCA – Skopje (montage)

Photograph No 2: Portrait of Ibrahim Mahama. Photo: White Cube (George Darrell)

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