Exhibition - “You Have Not Yet Been Defeated” at Glasgow CCA
The School of Mutants, installation views at Glasgow CCA, “You Have Not Yes Been Defeated” curated by Thomas Abercromby. Photo: Eoin Carey. Credit: Courtesy of Glasgow CCA.
For the Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Arts 2024, The School of Mutants (Boris Raux, Hamedine Kane, Lou Mo, Stéphane Verlet Bottéro, Valérie Osouf and Diane Cescutti) and artist-curator Thomas Abercromby are undertaking a research project between Glasgow and Dakar, which aims to explore the creation, dissemination and diversification of knowledge. The project draws inspiration from Senegalese filmmaker and writer Ousmane Sembène's novel God's Bits of Wood, 1960, and seeks to delve into the intertwined narratives of colonialism, extraction, labour, class struggle and freedom.
God's Bits of Wood is set against the backdrop of the 1947-48 Dakar-Niger railway strike, a pivotal labour movement in colonial West Africa. The story follows a diverse cast of characters—workers, their families, and community members—as they unite to challenge French colonial rule and demand better working and living conditions. God's Bits of Wood illustrates the transformative power of collective action and the resilience of oppressed communities in their fight for liberation.
Railways have historically served as an important instrument of colonial coercion, facilitating territorial expansion, forced labour, and material extraction. The project aims to explore historical and contemporary parallels, as well as alternative narratives, between Glasgow, Dakar, and beyond. The research will focus on Glasgow's significance as a locomotive manufacturing centre crucial to British colonial exploitation, establishing parallels and initiating a cross-referenced dialogue with the railroad strikes across l'Afrique Occidentale Française (AOF). Through memory, historical analysis, and fiction, we hope to enrich our understanding of these pivotal moments of resistance and imagine future scenarios for liberation.
Emphasising mutation, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated (taking its title after Egyptian-British blogger, software developer, and political activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah's book) is designed as a co-authored space activated through a public programme, serving as generative moments for developing common ground. The exhibition will continuously evolve, adapt and welcome new elements over time, inviting audiences and collaborators to engage and contribute to the process of collective knowledge-building.
The opening will take place on Thursday 6 June 7-9pm as part of Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Arts opening program. The exhibition will be on view until August 31, 2024.