Jermay Michael Gabriel's First Italian Solo Show Critiques Colonial Archive

Jermay Michael Gabriel's first solo exhibition in Italy, 'Cose Bizzarre', opens at ArtNoble Gallery in Milan from November 7, 2024, to January 31, 2025. The title derives from a phrase used by the voiceover in documentaries by Istituto Luce to describe indigenous customs in Ethiopia and Eritrea during Italian colonialism. The show features over 30 new works that invert and critique colonial visual paradigms. The artist, born in Addis Ababa in 1997, is also a member of the musical duo Plethor X with Giovanni Isgrò and founder of Black History Month Milano and Kirykou. Curator Elisa Giuliano explains that the works address fear by exposing codes that transcend historical paradigms, revealing a universal yet personal genealogy. Gabriel describes the works as using matter as an archive of time, akin to alchemy's 'prima materia'. The exhibition includes painting, sculpture, and photography, with photography serving as a guarantor of memory. Gabriel plans a research trip to Ethiopia.