Igshaan Adams: Between Then and Now

Working across textile, sculpture and performance, South African artist Igshaan Adams transforms overlooked materials from daily life in Cape Town into powerful reflections on notions of collective belonging, resilience and care. Igshaan Adams: Between Then and Now will present newly commissioned and existing works, including monumental tapestries adorned with beads, chains, rope and ribbons, as well as a new large-scale environmental installation of his dance prints. Drawing on Adams’ personal memories informed by apartheid-era South Africa, the exhibition will also feature site-specific suspended sculptures examining the impact of lived experiences on the human psyche, with a particular emphasis on the healing potential of movement and dance. Inspired by Adams’ communal values and studio environment, this presentation will showcase a selection of textile swatches from the artist’s studio, which visitors will be invited to touch and explore. Through a collaborative practice, Adams’ work positions art as a vehicle for healing and connecting – something vital in our current era. Comprising more than sixty works produced over the past decade until today, Igshaan Adams: Between Then and Now – organised by Mudam and The Hepworth Wakefield in collaboration with ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum – is the largest exhibition on the artist’s work to date.