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A vintage black and white illustration showcases five African women from different angles, each displaying unique, elaborate hairdressings. The hairstyles include intricate braids, loops, and decorative adornments. The text above partially describes a hair treatment process.
A chaotic array of colourful beads and strings fills the surface, creating a vibrant but cluttered scene. To the left, there are stacked bags in various bright colors. Among the beads and strings, there are some unidentifiable objects and partially visible items.
A wooden tray subdivided into 18 compartments, displaying various trade beads of different colors and shapes. Some compartments have handwritten labels. The tray is part of the Henry M. Stanley collection at the Africa-Museum in Tervuren, Belgium.

Am I porous or am I imploding?

12:00 am Tuesday 1 October 2024 – 12:00 am Saturday 2 November 2024

Norwich University of the Arts is pleased to present the first exhibition of the East Gallery Fellows 2023-4, with Divine Southgate-Smith.

This event has now finished

Tuesday 1 October – Saturday 2 November 2024 | East Gallery

Launch event

There will be a launch event for this project on Saturday 28 September, 1-3pm at East Gallery.

Free refreshments will be served and all are welcome.

About the exhibition

Over the past year, Southgate-Smith has used the research-based Fellowship programme to ‘launch a speculative and material investigation into the archive of African expression through craft and design’.  ‘The archive is porous’, Southgate-Smith comments, alluding to the many voids in the official record of indigenous peoples. The resulting history, often constructed through colonial collecting and cataloging processes, she/they conjecture, cannot be considered as representing time or people in a linear manner.

“Am I porous or am I imploding?” is a rumination on a familiar and ubiquitous form: the bead. Present in all cultures, in all times across the world, and particularly speaking to Southgate-Smith’s Togolese heritage, it holds equal significance for maker and viewer. Five artworks created while on residency offer a set of artifacts for a new, pluralistic history which interweaves the archive, and a contemporary lived experience.

East Gallery is based in the heart of Norwich, our address is:
Cavendish House
St Andrews Street
Norwich
NR2 4AE

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