Happy first day of Autumn from a person mourning the end of a lacklustre British summer that, judging by the quality, was surely purchased in a pound shop. As always, my coping mechanism is offsetting the malaise with inspiring creative things, right now these are some of my faves.
BOOK
The Body Remembers fuses movement, soundscape and immersive theatre to explore how trauma is processed and contained in the Black British female body. It’s written and performed by multidisciplinary artist and actor Heather Agyepong who understands the body to be an archive housing layers of both lived and generational mental tension and stress.
Her artistic practice considers health and wellbeing through a diasporic lens with an aim to facilitate catharsis and relief and this is mirrored in her approach to the play. Though described as a solo performance The Body Remembers is in fact a constant dynamic dialogue between Agyepong and the audience. It takes inspiration from the therapeutic practice of Authentic Movement and encourages a journey towards collective healing. A short tour of UK venues commences in October, tickets are available via the link below.
WATCH
Spirit Moves is a visual gratitude poem conceived by musician anaiis and directed by CHILD studio. The work is dedicated to the ancestral beings that continually guide, protect and heal us in ways we are seldom in tune to. Drawing inspiration from the V&A (who both commissioned and provided the location for the film), it pays homage to the energies that inhabit the objects in the museum despite their removal from both home and context. The narrative meanwhile seeks to celebrate the shared roots of traditional Senegalese, Yoruba and Afro Brazillian spiritual practice.
The film stars Oshun, goddess of water and divine feminine energy alongside Senegalese Sabar dancers playing the role of the ancestors. An original score interpreted from anaiis’ upcoming debut album This is No Longer a Dream featuring the Griot or poet as narrator guides both movement and story. The final figures are the Elder, a symbol of wisdom, stillness and fluidity capable of transmuting energies and a metamorphosed anaiis rising from a place of disillusionment and isolation with renewed purpose.
For a deeper dive into the piece, I’d recommend this great interview with anaiis on the V&A Soundcloud which you can access below. Full film credits can be found in the Youtube video caption.
VIEW
Yashua Klos is (in my opinion) one of the most exciting artists working in the medium of printmaking today. He’s taken the process of woodblock printing that has a history spanning over 1800 years and completely redefined its visual language and application whilst still celebrating the very thing that gives it soul; the wood grain. I’ve always thought that in some ways, his collaged works echo the trees from which they were created in both their ambitious scale and sculptural quality.
He recently shared the above video where he discusses his solo exhibition How We Hold It All Together held at UTA Artists Space earlier this year. The show was in many ways both a thematic and stylistic departure and heavily influenced by his experience of the pandemic. The interview is conducted by the absolutely brilliant artist and printmaker Kenturah Davis but if you’d rather browse Klos’ work first you can view highlights from How We Hold It All Together by clicking the button below.
DISCOVER
Slum Studio is a fashion label rooted in activism and committed to challenging the hypocrisy of the recent rise in brand and corp greenwashing. Their garments exist somewhere between art, performance and fashion and are carefully upcycled from waste fabrics and clothes sourced in the sprawling second-hand markets of Ghana.
If you’re in the Global North don’t say you don’t know that donated clothes end up in Africa. Your actions of donating your used clothes may be a better option, which comes with goodwill, but if you truly care about the clothes, start thinking about what you want to see happen to them next. You have the power to buy, so you have the same power to challenge and question the players involved. You can challenge mass production because it feeds from our purchasing power. - Sel Kofiga, founder of Slum Studio
Their website is home to a really great resource list of articles and educational materials on the topic of sustainability often considering the crisis from the perspective of those most acutely affected by it. I would also recommend giving their Instagram a follow as it is equally informative and thought-provoking.
VISIT
The 15th edition of the FOAM (Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam) Talent Call is now live in a beautifully designed digital gallery. The annual exhibition seeks to spotlight exceptional photographers aged 18 to 40 across the globe. According to their website, the 2021 iteration received the highest number of entries to date spanning 72 countries, a breadth mirrored in the final selection.
I’m not the biggest fan of digital exhibitions but if memory serves me right the physical versions of past FOAM Talent Calls, restricted by gallery building sizes, have shown less work than their online counterpart. I love the addition of interviews, films, podcasts, audio and other supporting content which makes for a really holistic viewing experience.
The work pictured above is from a series titled Heimat by Delali Ayivi, you can browse her other pieces and the remaining selected artists by clicking the button below.
What I’m Listening To…
I recently finished reading Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson. The book is punctuated by song references and it turns out they’ve been collated in a Spotify playlist along with some of the music that inspired his writing.