Remember Me: Joy Yamusangie

This March, Tiwani Contemporary is delighted to present Joy Yamusangie’s first solo show with the gallery. The exhibition consists of a body of new work, which furthers the artist’s interest in illustrating speculative, euphoric spaces and is centred around the fear of being forgotten, not only through death but also in life where we are forgotten by past lovers, old friends and those who were once closest to us. The catalyst for this suite of new paintings was the major surgery Yamusangie underwent last year, a procedure undertaken to affirm their gender identity. A cathartic experience, it nevertheless triggered thoughts of mortality, and the idea of leaving a legacy, while contemplating whether and how we live on in the memories of family, friends and lovers. Yamusangie questions what happens when memories fade and asks, what efforts do we take to cement legacy and permanence within history?

Music is core to Yamusangie’s practice, and the artist has curated a soundtrack - with each song speaking to a specific work - to accompany the show. The soundtrack will play within the galleries and the playlist can also be listened to on Spotify here. 

At the heart of the exhibition is Six Weeks (2023), a work about gender euphoria, healing, and living. The painting is a self-portrait, the setting of which exists somewhere between reality and unconsciousness - an amalgamation of the doctors’ offices, clinical waiting rooms and operating theatre the artist found themself in last year. The image is a representation of the artist in bed convalescing after transformative surgery, with the red sun signifying the last thing they remember before being anesthetised and ‘going under’, counting down from ten but only making it to seven before waking up, dazed, post-surgery.