The Unfinished Conversation (2012)

John Akomfrah (United Kingdom)

Two Meetings and a Funeral (2017)

Naeem Mohaiemen (Bangladesh/United States)

Nucleus of the Great Union (2017)

The Otolith Group (United Kingdom)

Non-Aligned brings together three moving-image works by artists, filmmakers, and writers that inquire into the challenging transition periods from British colonial rule to the independence of nations. The various colonial territories, spanning from Asia to Australia, from Africa to America to the Caribbean, gained their sovereignty and independence at different times. These processes of decolonisation played out in the histories of nations, but also determined the lives of individuals.

The featured artists apply archival material in different ways, presenting documents, photos, and footage collected by individuals, as well as tracing historic events and sites. This includes the personal histories and the work of intellectuals who experienced these unprecedented circumstances first-hand, including Jamaican-born British theorist Stuart Hall (1932-2014) and African American novelist Richard Wright (1908-1960), and the history of political organisation around the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The NAM, formed by large group of African, Asian, and Latin American countries navigating post-colonial constellations, was established in 1961 on principles such as world peace and cooperation, human rights, anti-racism, respect, disarmament, non-aggression, and justice, attempting a diversion from the two major powers at that time—the United States and the Soviet Union.

Amplifying and celebrating outstanding voices that engage in the inherent struggles that define the post-WWII period, the film installations in Non-Aligned reflect on a period of new departures for progressive movements that paved the way for post-colonial politics. This process of examining the interconnected stories of place, identity, and the conscious assertion of difference from established Western narratives contributes to the still ongoing effort towards complete decolonisation.

Non-Aligned is curated by Ute Meta Bauer, Founding Director, NTU CCA Singapore, and Professor, School of Art, Design and Media, NTU.