Common Ground

INTERVIEW OF BRIAN BOA

COULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS FOR SELECTING THE ARTISTS?

The selection of artists really was effortless - the idea of curating this exhibition stems from their very presence in my life for the most part.
Martine Syms, Walid Labri, Efe and Hassan Rahim are beloved friends, whom I have known for a while and whose work I have the utmost respect and admiration for. I've collaborated with some of them in the past on creative projects and so this felt like an organic combination to assemble.
I only connected with Mark Leckey and Lloyd Foster for the first time on this occasion - but being aware of their work it felt like an opportunity to communicate the message we were trying to convey.
I tend to surround myself with people who share similar values but have different opinions to inform my reflections on the world we are living in. I wanted to touch on topics and themes that were close to my interests, home, displacement, living crises, societal disparities... In these artists I saw the opportunity to convey these topics in a way that felt layered and complex but accessible, and in a language that could be understood by most. And so I went and dug into their works picking the pieces that would accomplish that - while also giving them the opportunity to create and premier new work.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ARTWORKS AND DRIES VAN NOTEN? YOU ARE MULTI-TALENTED AND INTERDISCIPLINARY. COULD YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND EXPLAIN WHY YOU DECIDED TO COLLABORATE WITH THE LITTLE HOUSE?

The connection is somewhat an obvious one perhaps. I'm Belgian, from Congolese descent, and Dries Van Noten is a Belgian designer who I've been familiar with since I was young. I grew up in Belgium for the most part of my youth and something that I find great about Belgium is that no matter your background or the neighbourhood you grow up in, the main cities are structured in a way that you can leave your council flat/social housing, walk 15 minutes, and find a fine art gallery, or stumble upon a designer store. So you get to see things that stimulate you, and if you're a bit curious they can open your world and shape your growth, which is something that I find less present in other neighbouring countries such as France or overseas in America. I’m talking about geographical access in particular, especially at a time where smartphones and social media did not exist or were very limited in their offering.
So my interest for art, design and architecture comes from this very experience of being Belgian I believe. My hunger to see more and travel was fuelled by the experience of understanding that there might be something that will open my horizon if I walk one more block, turn one more corner... leading us here today. Here in Los Angeles, teaming up with fellow Belgian to present international work from outstanding artists who touch upon topics that I believe are meaningful in today’s climate, in any part of the globe.
That being said - my will was also driven by a far more unpleasant experience, the experience of being denied access to these spaces, or the treatment you’d receive when entering them. The violence of being looked down upon because you look different than those who the institutions have the capacity to make feel welcome and considered. So representation in these spaces is important and that’s part of why we are here today.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE VISITORS TO FEEL WHILE VISITING THE SPACE, AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE THEY TAKE AWAY WITH THEM?

I honestly have no expectations - if some people feel moved by the exhibition or feel a sense of connection with the artist’s works and the curation as a whole, that would be amazing. Art is really so subjective and I understand that not everyone can connect to things they don’t relate to. I hope some will and they’d want to see more and maybe come to the next one?

WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF THE PROCESS?

Putting artists with different practices or mediums, from different generations and backgrounds together is challenging in itself - especially if you consider the coherence of a group exhibition. But again, personally, I felt quite confident in the choices made so the challenge felt quite approachable.
Maybe the most challenging thing for my first curatorial exhibition was to figure out shipping costs.