Congolese sculptor Patrick Bongoy’s work Sapped II, 2019 is currently on view as part of a group exhibition, If You Look Hard Enough, You Can See Our Future, at the African American Museum of Dallas.

Bongoy works predominantly with waste materials such as inner tubes from vehicle tyres, industrial packaging, hessian sacking and textiles. He cuts and weaves these together to create complex, layered sculptures and three-dimensional reliefs. His work addresses issues around migration, economic exploitation and environmental degradation.

“The future isn’t just yours or mine, we’re in it together. I’m hoping that people will get a sense of the sort of shared humanity,” explains the curator of the exhibition, Laurie Ann Farrell, who runs Bespoke Art Consultants in Dallas. Farrell was approached to curate the exhibition a number of years back, but the COVID-19 pandemic put things on hold. The delay gave her the opportunity to take her time getting to know the various artists and works in the collection, and how best to build a powerful presentation for a local audience.

All of the pieces in this exhibition are part of the Nando’s Art Collection which boasts over 25 000 objects, most of which were made in South Africa or by African artists. Nando’s is a well-known fast food chain that originated in Johannesburg in 1987, and since then, has grown into a global food brand with over 1,200 locations. The timing of the exhibition fittingly coincides with Nando’s expansion into Texas (Houston and Dallas). “Really for us, it was a time in the collection’s lifespan that it is mature enough to be shown. We were very keen to bring it to North America. It made sense to have it coincide with the Nando’s opening,” says Mirna Wessels, CEO of the Spier Arts Trust which over sees the collection.

Other featured artists include Joachim Schonfeldt, Kasigo Patrick Mautloa, Zanele Muholi, Vivien Kohler and William Kentridge.

If You Look Hard Enough, You Can See Our Future is on until 13 August, 2023.