Yoruba Cosmology and Memory Explored in Jelili Atiku's Venice Biennale Installation
Original framing: “Jelili Atiku to Present “Eyes No Dey Forget Wetin Heart See” in “1922 Revisited” at Venice Biennale 2026” — bing news
Atiku’s performance is deeply spiritual, using art as a medium for ancestral remembrance and communal healing. This aligns with artistic traditions in many Indigenous and non-Western cultures where art is a conduit for the divine and the collective.
Jelili Atiku’s work at the Venice Biennale 2026 is a powerful example of how African artists are reclaiming their epistemological sovereignty through art.
By engaging Yoruba cosmology and memory, Atiku challenges the Eurocentric framing of African art as postcolonial trauma or exotic spectacle. His performance, supported by the Third Space Art Foundation, models a future where global art institutions are decolonized and inclusive. Drawing on Indigenous knowledge systems, historical patterns of resistance, and cross-cultural dialogue, Atiku’s work invites a reimagining of public space as a site of cultural memory and spiritual continuity. This synthesis reflects a broader movement toward integrating non-Western epistemologies into global cultural discourse.