The First Solo Exhibition in Europe by April Bey , I Believe in Why I'm Here, Introduces us to The World of Atlantica

April Bey: I Believe in Why I'm Here1 September - 1 October 2022

Welcoming you to Atlantica. This place is open for you to live in. You'll be led by April Bey, who has built a world where everyone is accepted for who they are and where love is the only currency.

I Believe in Why I'm Here, April Bey's first solo show in Europe, is an introduction to the universe of Atlantica that the artist has been developing for the last three decades. The gallery has been magically converted into a thriving hub of life, ready to greet and inspire all who enter. You'll get to know some locals of Atlantica via life-size pictures crafted from luxurious materials like sherpa, metallic thread, and imitation Atlantican fur, then embellished with glitter, sequins, and hand stitching. These people own their space, being shamelessly themselves, through selfie-style closeups and editorial-style pictures. Among the many wonderfully conceptualised speculative parts of Atlantica developed and implemented by April with humour and perfection is the planet's fashion brand, 'Colonial Swag,' which is worn by figures who ooze confidence in their own Black skin.

Source: Simon Lee Gallery

There are also collages of anthropomorphic plant species made from the same wonderfully textured textiles that accompany the characters, serving as a gentle reminder of our inseparable connection to the natural world and the fact that all life originates from it. The Atlanticans bask in the sun and indulge in other forms of extreme relaxation, drawing strength from the bounty of their natural surroundings and discarding any restrictions placed on them by society on account of their look, identity, or aptitude. All of the characters in the programme are based on actual people who were handpicked by April to represent the best of Atlantica by venturing where no human has gone before. Triple Minor, Astra Marie, Myjah Moon, and Saucye West are all Instagram celebrities in their own right, with thousands of followers who look up to them as role models for self-love and Queer delight in everything from gender-bending fashion to legendary nail art and body acceptance.

When April was just four years old, she confronted her African American father with the question of why her friends were treating her differently at school because of her skin colour. Instead of recommending that his daughter conceal or alter who she really is so that she might fit into the flawed systems of society, April's father explained that the family was really extraterrestrial visitors. The cornerstone of Atlantica was laid at that pivotal juncture of her formative infancy, full of opportunity and creativity. In contrast to April's own marginalised experience on Earth, Atlantica has become a centre of radical potential and a space of resistance. Being on the margins "nourishes one's potential to resist" and "offers the prospect of radical views from which to perceive and create, to envisage alternatives, new worlds," as Bell Hooks said in her 1990 article "Marginality as site of resistance." 1 April's new world is a rejection of the discrimination that marginalised people like us face. Rejecting the pervasive prejudice, racism, homophobia, classism, ableism, misogyny, and body-shaming that permeates every aspect of our culture. It is precisely April's own marginalised human experience that gives her the ability to construct Atlantica, an alternate reality created one work at a time with love and devotion, a new home ready to welcome everyone willing to undertake the interplanetary voyage.

It's understandable if April's perfect world seems like nothing more than a fantasy to you. However, what she creates is a task and a question: how can we bring this world into being? In doing so, she carries on the work of the Afrofuturists, who, since the 1970s, have used the study of hypothetical futures to reevaluate the past and rethink the present. Octavia Butler, the movement's matriarch and April's primary source of inspiration, sets the bar high when it comes to world building, as shown in her Parable books, in which the made-up religion Earthseed offers hope for a future beyond our current planet. 

“The Destiny of EarthseedIs to take root among the stars.

It is to live and to thrive

On new earths.

It is to become new beings

And to consider new questions.”

The constraints and prejudices that we wish to escape on this earth are themselves constructs that began as fictional narratives, now embedded in our daily existence and social order in urgent need of questioning. How do we decolonise our minds in order to shed the trappings of a colonised world? We must write counter narratives compelling and immersive enough to offer a powerful alternative to the world we have become used to, but aren’t necessarily willing to accept. Which version of earth do we want our children to inherit? It’s impossible to experience April’s exhibition and not be moved and inspired by what you see. Here you’ll find freedoms you’d wish for yourself and future generations; a world abundant with colour, inclusivity, and positivity; a future filled with opulence, liberation, love, and hope. Welcome to Atlantica. This world is yours to inhabit, if you make the choice to stay.

- Gemma Rolls-Bentley