In the group exhibition at Bode, voices from southern Africa rethink movement — politically, poetically, personally. September in Berlin always feels like a state of emergency: the city is full, the streets are crowded, minds are overloaded, school has started up again, and everything is in motion. The title of the exhibition (opening tomorrow, 05.09.2025) at Bode could hardly be more fitting: Still Moving. Curated by choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Jessica Nupen, the exhibition brings together voices from southern Africa who understand movement beyond a purely physical phenomenon, and as something political, poetic, and personal. The works span mediums such as painting, sculpture, and installation, opening a dialogue between memory and ritual. Renowned artists such as William Kentridge, Sam Nhlengethwa, and Misheck Masamvu are presented alongside younger artists, including Boemo Diale, Nthabiseng Kekana, Frances Goodman, and Rosie Mudge.
The curatorial approach reveals the many ways movement can be conceived and visualized. Kentridge, internationally known for his playful animations and dynamic drawings, engages with the erasures and contradictions in history. Nhlengethwa translates jazz into a language of survival. Masamvu paints the fragile terrain of Zimbabwe with raw, rhythmic energy. Diale and Kekana explore the body as an archive, Goodman frames it as a battlefield, while Mudge transforms it into a shimmering surface full of contradictions. Together, their works create a panorama that renders movement tangible as a choreography of identities, memories, and spaces. Or, as Nupen puts it: “The exhibition challenges us to rethink our ideas about movement”. And perhaps feel them anew — movement as transformation, as a cautious or powerful gesture, as something ever present, even in silence.
Text: Hilka Dirks / Credit: Boemo Diale; Misheck Masamvu; Sam Nhlengethwa; Bode
Bode, Karl-Marx-Allee 82, 10243 Berlin–Friedrichshain; map
Still Moving until 19.10.2025. The opening takes place on 05.09.2025, featuring a live music performance by Bastian Duncker (saxophone), Sebastian Böhlen (guitar), and Sidney Werner (bass).
@bode.gallery
