Nolan Oswald Dennis is showing a multimedia installation consisting of a wall drawing and sculptural works alongside a series of pencil-on-paper drawings at the biennial. The procedural drawing options (2019–) considers a specific worldview summarised by the sentence ‘the world we want is a world in which many worlds exist’. The work, at once an articulation of decolonial theory and affirmation of multiplicity, is an iterative sketch that visually diagrams a series of related concepts, from history as repetition and farce, to the tribulations and dysfunctions of globalisation.
model for a gasp (veiled) (2022) is a kinetic, sculptural work that inflates and deflates a globular form veiled under cowry shells according to the rhythm of the people in the room, turning the presence of bodies into a particular kind of geo-biofeedback. Suspended from the ceiling, model for a shadow (articulated) (2025), on the other hand, takes on the form of the globe and reconfigures it through a recurring mirror image, gesturing towards an alternate existence.
Studio Notes XII, XIII, and XIV (2025) is a series of pencil and collage drawings that likewise articulate the unfolding geography and grammar of the decolonial.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Nolan Oswald Dennis (b. 1988, Lusaka) is an artist based in Johannesburg. Their practice explores the material and metaphysical conditions of decolonisation, questioning histories of space and time through system-specific interventions. Their solo exhibitions include overturns, Swiss Institute, New York (2025); geo-logics, Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam (2024); UNDERSTUDIES, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town. Group exhibitions include the 4th Lagos Biennial (2024); the 14th Shanghai Biennale (2023); the 2nd FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art (2022).
EXHIBITED WORKS
Nolan Oswald Dennis (b. 1988)
options, 2019–
Chalk marker on wall
Variable dimensions
Courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery
Wall drawing realised with the assistance of Emine Sandal and Hacer Nur Şahin
Nolan Oswald Dennis (b. 1988)
model for a gasp (veiled), 2022
Nylon inflatable, integrated fan, cowry-shell veil, microcontroller, breathing programme
200 × 200 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery
Nolan Oswald Dennis (b. 1988)
model for a shadow (articulated), 2025
Compounded PET globe model, synthetic stone finish, black primer, threaded rod, aluminium tube
Variable dimensions
Courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery
Nolan Oswald Dennis (b. 1988)
Studio Notes XII, 2025
Pencil and collage on paper
42 × 29.7 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery
Nolan Oswald Dennis (b. 1988)
Studio Notes XIII, 2025
Pencil and collage on paper
42 × 29.7 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery
Nolan Oswald Dennis (b. 1988)
Studio Notes XIV, 2025
Pencil and collage on paper
42 × 29.7 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery
