History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Dumile Feni: African Guernica

In the first instalment of the Reina Sofía Museum’s new programme, History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme, establishes a dialogue between Pablo Picasso's Guernica (1937) and African Guernica (1967), by Dumile Feni (Worcester, South Africa, 1942 – New York, 1991), whereby this is the first time this painting has left its country of origin. It can be visited from 25 March to 22 September in the Sabatini Building (Floor 2).

Feni's work, which is markedly biographical in nature, emerged in the context of state violence and institutionalised racial oppression under South African apartheid.  Created during the 1960s, African Guernica invokes Picasso's painting, not only in its title but also in its synergies with the Spanish artist's visual vocabulary.  In this way, Feni's large charcoal drawing also draws on the simplification and expressive distortion of figures, the monochromatic tone and dramatic lighting, abstraction and dislocation of space or even the conjunctions between animals and humans. The shared use of a monumental scale is also crucial in highlighting the violence inherent in all situations of war, discrimination and oppression throughout history.

This exhibition invites visitors to speculate on the similarities and differences between the two works, created in different historical and geographical contexts, as well as to discover other works by the South African artist, which also form part of the presentation.  The confrontation between the Spanish painting and the South African drawing invites critical reflection on the different issues raised by the exhibition.

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme is a series of interventions within the Reina Sofía Museum’s Collection that consist of juxtaposing an equivalent to Guernica from another time or geopolitical sphere, contextualised by an academic work of art history as an interpretative framework. 

Image Credit:

• Dumile Feni, African Guernica, 1967 © Dumile Feni Estate and Dumile Feni Family Trust