A royal College of Art Africa Society Exhibition - Translation issues

There are untranslatable phrases that cannot be accurately translated into English, else water the weight of its sentiment. There are nuanced movements that provoke nostalgia, only in those familiar with its context. These are the kind of things that have site-specific, extremely nuanced connotations that are subconsciously deciphered and received by members of that culture. The cultural memory that lives among the community practices and codes of any given people.

What does it mean to comment on the translation issues that many in the diaspora face when trying to communicate their culture to their children, to those not born in their home country?

Looking at hyper localised, culturally rooted ontologies that are layered within African cultures. 'Translation issues' invites practitioners and visitors to explore nuanced concepts and cultural ideas that are hidden within phrases, actions, expressions that those outside these cultures could not understand. In other words, translating the untranslatable. Translating what is seen and what is felt into something more. This is curated by Royal College of Art Africa society in collaboration with The Africa Centre.