Dineo Seshee Raisibe Bopape presents (ka) pheko ye – the dream to come at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, opening 6 October 2023. For her debut exhibition in the Nordic countries, Bopape presents new multimedia, multisensory and site-specific installations that centre around the ecology and natural history of Finland. Continuing her exploration of themes such as memory, spirituality and dreaming, the exhibition sees the entire fifth floor of the museum transformed into an earthy landscape scented with herbs.
In (ka) pheko ye – the dream to come, Bopape (b. 1981, Polokwane, South Africa) takes inspiration from her recent time spent immersed in the rural municipality of Hämeenkyrö, where she learned about traditional herbs and medicinal plants while visiting sites such as bogs, landfills, forests and petroglyphs. Many of the organic materials she encountered – such as clay, soil, ash and plants – are incorporated and evoked in the works throughout the exhibition, including an expansive mural made of sprayed clay and stencilled around the entire wall of the gallery. For Bopape these materials are highly symbolic, referencing concepts of identity as well as the history and geographic locations of Finland.
In particular, Bopape’s exhibition draws upon the idea of dreaming as a state that connects humans to memories and other forms of life, as well as realms of spirituality and healing: the phrase ‘(ka) pheko ye’ in the title of the exhibition refers in Sepedi (the language of her grandmother) to ‘antidote’. During her stay in Hämeenkyrö, Bopape worked with experts on the Frantsila organic herb farm to develop a fragrance and a tea blend containing dream-promoting herbs such as heather and hops. This scent will be diffused throughout the gallery space and available in the Kiasma shop along with the tea, carrying the experience of the exhibition beyond the walls of the museum.
Other installations will include circular and domed structures that provide enclosed, shared spaces for contemplation and offer a ceramic pillow for visitors to relax and daydream. These structures will be layered with mud from the lakes in the countryside of Finland, where the artist engaged in wild swimming. Soil is a recurring and crucial material in Bopape’s practice, alluding to concepts of fertility, life and renewal, with minerals in stone also seen as repositories of memories and ancient wisdom according to southern African lore.
Alongside organic materials, Bopape’s installations will also comprise light, sound and a video work, which will be projected through a large bowl of water: a poetic juxtaposition of contemporary media with natural elements. The pinkish hue of forget-me-not flowers – another dream-inducing plant native to Hämeenkyrö – will also cast an atmospheric glow in the exhibition space, as Bopape creates subtly immersive experiences of Finnish nature through a series of sensory, physical and imaginative states.
The exhibition is curated by João Laia, chief curator of temporary exhibitions at Kiasma, and is produced in collaboration with Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zurich.