Tabita Rezaire has her roots in French Guiana, and lived in Johannesburg before settling in Cayenne. Her art blends various fields of knowledge, cultures, and views into a web full of references to mysticism, science, ecology, African history and post-Internet cultures.

This cross-pollination is also reflected in the title of the exhibition: Tabita Rezaire’s art offers an ‘immaculate symbiosis’ of scientific ideas, technology and spirituality. Her purpose is to decolonize technology, making clear just how much Western values and power structures have influenced the way we see and identify ourselves – as separate to the rest of creation.

The new video installation Orbit Diapason (2021) is on view in the Annex of the Centraal Museum, and the works Mamelles Ancestrales (2019), Peaceful Warrior (2015) and Sorry for Real (2015) at the IMPAKT Centre. The common thread is the display of alternative perspectives on dominant technological narratives. In Mamelles Ancestrales, Rezaire integrates the modern Western urge to conquer with ancient African monoliths that may have served as technologies to understand the universe, drawing her inspiration not only from ‘modern’ science, but also from cosmic experience and knowledge conveyed by ancestral spirits.

Tabita Rezaire emphasises the power and contributions of non-Western cultures, without seeking to be didactic. She is well aware of the impact of colonial structures on today’s world. To counter this she offers, as a ‘decolonial healer’, a perspective in which mystic and spiritual go hand in hand with technology.

Utrecht is no stranger to Tabita Rezaire’s work: in 2016 she was selected for the EMARE residency, and this resulted in Premium Connect. The installation was shown at the 2017 IMPAKT Festival, ‘Haunted Machines and Wicked Problems’, and has often been exhibited in other countries.

Curators: Arjon Dunnewind (IMPAKT) and Laurie Cluitmans (Centraal Museum).
Tabita Rezaire: Symbiose Immaculée is a partnership between IMPAKT [Centre for Media Culture] and Centraal Museum Utrecht, and consists of two presentations. At IMPAKT three works are on display: Mamelles Ancentrales, Peaceful Warrior en Sorry for Real. The second part of the exhibition is held in the Annex of the Centraal Museum (Agnietenstraat 1, Utrecht). The installation shown there, Orbit Diapason, is the result of a project commissioned by the two institutions; the film in the installation is partly funded by the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) and Los Angeles Filmforum.

The exhibition has also been generously supported by the Mondriaan Fund, OUTSET, the Theodora Niemeijer Fund and the Fentener van Vlissingen Fund.