Banana Branches

Nowadays, bananas are the most consumed fruit worldwide: Latin America and the Caribbean are the second largest banana exporters worldwide, only preceded by Asia. This means that most of the banana production occurs in southern regions of the globe. However, almost 80% of exports are acquired by developed countries. This data reflects a clear imbalance between countries in terms of commercial dependency. A fruit like the banana can help us shed light upon the past and still existing social and commercial inequalities and tension between regions affected by their colonial history and those countries that excessed their colonial power.

Taking the above as a starting point, this exhibition aims to examine the subversive quality of the banana through its different artistic representations. The works included in this presentation aim to explore the meaning of bananas from a cultural and political standpoint. Latin American artists such as Paulo Nazareth emphasise the negative implications of banana trade in the region, like deforestation or the simplified perception of Latin-American cultures as 'exotic'. Other artists included in the show have also used the bananas in their practice as a provocative tool to criticise those in power. Natalia LL's pieces are a clear commentary not only on the shifting consumerism in Poland during the 1970s but also on the oppression suffered by women in the public sphere.

Spanning decades in contemporary art and encompassing several regions, the exhibition Banana Branches conveys the poetic and revolutionary power of representation that lies in something so simple and ordinary as the banana fruit.