David Alabo: Afrofuturism and hope

The exhibition "Surreal Futures," now on show at the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl, a German town just south of Cologne, features 31 artworks from 19 different countries.

The exhibition explores how surrealism can contribute to giving visibility to "traumatized identities and bodies, as well as wounded landscapes," as the exhibition's accompanying text puts it.

In other words, "Surreal Futures" deals with nothing less than the major issues of our time, including climate change, environmental destruction, identity, colonialism and racism, reflecting artistic confrontations with these issues in a rapidly changing world.

The show, curated by Patrick Blümel, is divided into three thematic chapters: "Digital Bodies," "Transforming Landscapes" and "Future Worlds." 

It is the museum's first exhibition with a digital focus, and it includes digital collages generated by 3D software, virtual reaIity and digital tools.

Works by Ghanaian-Moroccan artist David Alabo are also prominently featured in the show.

Alabo has been exploring many of the aforementioned themes in a multidisciplinary way for years and is one of the well-known representatives of Afrofuturism, a worldwide aesthetic movement that encompasses art, literature, music, film and science and that is created by African authors, mostly in the diaspora.

DW met David Alabo for a conversation on August 28, after the exhibition opening.

DW: What is your personal definition of Afrofuturism?

David Alabo: I love that question. I define Afrofuturism as a reimagination or reinterpretation of both futures and pasts that may have not existed or may have existed and there is a sense of hope or optimism you can get when you're imagining a future that you know isn't based necessarily on reality.

As an Afrofuturist, the main idea or driving force behind my work is to create a sense of optimism, hope and empowerment for people that see the work. African art has most of the time been quite drenched in pain and suffering, based on the history of colonialism and slavery, and a lot of these really real and serious topics.

And I think the job of an Afrofuturist specifically is to ask questions about how could we see our people? How could we see Black people? How could we see African people? How could we see people in the diaspora? Thriving in places that are imagined or surreal?

But I also like to have my art piece almost like a canvas for people's thoughts and expressions and for them to find some sense of healing through the art.

So, surrealism as healing instead of an escape into a dream world?

I'm not trying to remove the Black experience or my experience from reality, but I feel like when you look at the art and you meditate on it and you heal on it, it's a reflection of your reality seen through a different lens or seen through a different perspective, which I think is so important because a lot of the times we need a sense of healing, hope and optimism, because we do live in a world that's quite cynical, quite dystopian. We're always hearing news about the world's going to end.

So in a way, there's a fine line between creating a world that isn't based on reality, but at the same time allows people that experience my art or other Afrofuturist art to draw some sort of lessons to the world and bring and relate it back to their own existence.

You speak of a past that "might have been." So, an imaginary past that we could strive for in the present?

I like to take the real symbols of Black power, Black resilience, like those common motifs of the raised fist, the Black Panther and also Black people. But I recontextualize them by putting them in new spaces, in new worlds that gives them a new meaning. Otherwise, I feel like the art would be a little too abstract.

When I create objects or sculptures, they're not necessarily based on things that I've seen before in my life.

I think I was drawn to surrealism because it allows me to tap into the subconscious, the unconscious and things that kind of pop up in my head. Art has been a great way for me to make sense of my own life and experiences, and I hope that that's what is transmitted through it when you see it.

There is indeed a renaissance of surrealism ...

It seems like the more we get into this tech-driven world, where we're being fed so much information about our reality, we want to see things that maybe don't exist.

I am using a lot of software and a lot of technology and at the same time, I am conscious of the fact that the people behind the technologies I'm using might not necessarily be Black or African. So, I think it's important as well for the Afrofuturist to ask questions about who is in charge of the technology or the structures that a lot of artists use.

In a way, it's as much about me consuming technology as it is about questioning it or trying to build. So I know the future for me is where I'm very much involved, not only in the consumption of technology, but also in its creation and development as a way to have more representation and a more equal amount of voices represented.

In the field of digital art, AI is also becoming an increasingly important topic. Where do you see the advantages and disadvantages of this technology?

We have models and programs that can turn out art on an incredible level and speed that is almost impossible for us to replicate as humans. But my point is that we should not be blinded by ignorance or to be afraid of it. I think that it's important for us artists to learn more about it — it doesn't mean you have to use it — but you can learn more about it just so you can be aware of how your place in this world might be shifting.

It's never going to replace what makes us human.

I use AI specifically for administrative things or for the things that take away time for me to create art, whether it's to answer emails or help me research something.

It doesn't have to necessarily be directly involved in my art, but it can allow me more time to be "human." Especially after this show, when I met some of the people that use AI more directly, I realized that I'm just tapping the surface. There's so much I need to learn and I'm not in a rush because everybody's saying "Oh yes, artists are gonna be done. Journalists are gonna be done." No, that's just fear mongering.

What is your experience of the exhibition here?

I think it's beautiful that they've been so progressive in trying to show not only just futuristic or new media art, but also art from underrepresented communities. And it's very brave of the museum to not only host this, but to make sure that the artists are present. It's just as important as the people that make it be there than just the art.

The exhibition "Surreal Futures" is on show at the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl until January 28, 2024.

This interview has been edited for clarity.