Kahlil Joseph's NEW SUNS exhibition at Bonnefantenmuseum presents immersive video installations exploring black culture

Kahlil Joseph's exhibition NEW SUNS at Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht features seven immersive video installations exploring African-American culture through hypnotic visual compositions. The Los Angeles-based artist, known for directing music videos for Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, presents works that blend documentary footage, staged scenes, and aerial views. The exhibition includes m.A.A.d (2014), a two-screen projection combining surveillance imagery and concert tour footage from Lamar's 2013 tour, which launched Joseph's career with subsequent shows at MOCA Los Angeles, New Museum New York, and Tate Modern London. Other installations include Wildcat (Aunt Janet) (2016), a three-channel video projected on transparent screens with footage from an African-American rodeo in Oklahoma, and Wizard of the Upper Amazon (2016), which recreates a backstage area with Rastafarian subjects. The Philosopher (2017) presents ten screens showing imagery filmed near Freetown, Sierra Leone. Personal works by Joseph's family members, including his late brother Noah Davis and his mother, accompany the videos, creating an atmosphere of loss and grief. The exhibition runs from 1 December to 25 March, with the title referencing Octavia Butler's quote about 'new suns' that deeply affected Joseph.