A Sonic Resonance Rounds the Bend
Peter Adjaye’s Soundscape “Ceremonies Within” for Toyin Ojih Odotula: A Countervailing Theory at The Barbican, ART AFRICA: Rapid Response, October/November 2020: 90-113
Upon entering The Curve, I can’t see what’s around the bend – but I can hear it.
This unique site at The Barbican – a long, sinuous path with one way in, one way out – is home to the first-ever UK exhibition by Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola. Known for her distinct mark-making techniques rendering topographical depictions of skin and narrative landscapes, Ojih Odutola has created a mythical, monochromatic world of pastel and charcoal. Her new radical social imaginary, A Countervailing Theory, challenges audiences not only to read a story, but also to read rhythm. Within this immersive exhibition one questions: what does storytelling sound like? What is its narrative pace, its pulsing heartbeat?
Conceptual sound artist Peter Adjaye brings these questions to nuanced life in his special collaboration with Ojih Odutola to create a soundscape activating her installation of 40 new works with a 12-channel sound installation Ceremonies Within combining ancient African instrumentation with modern contemporary synths and strings.