JOHN AKOMFRAH - The Unintended Beauty of Disaster
MATERIAL DISCOURSE

JOHN AKOMFRAH - The Unintended Beauty of Disaster

What: John Akomfrah - The Unintended Beauty of Disaster

Where: Lisson Gallery, 27 Bell Street, London, UK

When: 13th April – 5th June, 2021

Via Lisson Gallery:

Lisson Gallery is delighted to unveil a series of new and recent works by celebrated artist, filmmaker, lecturer and writer, John Akomfrah. The exhibition includes a new three-screen video installation alongside a series of new photo-text works. Featuring footage filmed over the past year, this new body of work responds directly to the events of 2020, most notably the Black Lives Matter protests and demonstrations against imperialist monuments, presenting a rethinking of historical narratives. The exhibition will also include the UK premiere of the ground-breaking three-screen film, Four Nocturnes (2019), commissioned by the inaugural Ghana Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia.

Akomfrah’s work is characterised by an ethical and emotional impetus to reflect on our collective consciousness – be it the existential threat of ecological disaster, exploring Black British identity and post-colonialism, or giving voice to minority communities. Akomfrah creates impressionist meditations through film and media; using montage techniques and bricolage, new footage is weaved together with archival material, newsreel and still photography. Overlaid with an immersive sound design, the artist often plays with imagery to construct conversations between the past and present, unapologetically bringing forth the multiplicity of these issues through non-linear narratives.

The first room in the gallery will house Four Nocturnes, the third part of a trilogy of films including the renowned Vertigo Sea (2015) and Purple (2017) that explore the complex intertwined relationship between humanity’s destruction of the natural world and our destruction of ourselves. Using Africa’s declining elephant populations as its narrative spine, Four Nocturnes questions mortality, loss, fragmented identity, mythology and memory through poetic visuals that survey the landscape of African cultural heritage.

In the front gallery of 67 Lisson Street, Akomfrah will present a series of new photo-texts, exploring colour, race and our obsession with ‘The Great Chain of Being’, following on from the artist’s recent edition, Our Skin Is a Monument I (2020), created in support of the Frieze Emerging Curators Fellowship for UK-based Black and POC emerging curators. This work, published on the October 2020 cover of frieze magazine, incorporates a still from the American film ‘Carmen Jones’ (1954), starring Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge. The still is placed into a Shirley card, a reference device used in colour-film technology since the 1940s to calibrate skin-colour balance, that for decades, only used white models to set their parameters, dramatically affecting how Black skin was rendered on film.

Our Skin Is a Monument builds on Akomfrah’s long-standing return to ‘the monument’, following on from films such as Signs of Empire (1983) and Handsworth Songs (1986) that challenged the existence of imperialist effigies. The term ‘Our Skin Is a Monument’ is taken from poet Caroline Randall Williams’ influential essay, ‘My Body is a Confederate Monument’, first published in The New York Times, in which she questions  “What is a monument but a standing memory?” As she states, “If there are those who want to remember the legacy of the Confederacy, if they want monuments, well, then, my body is a monument. My skin is a monument.” This series of works prompts us to evaluate not just what monuments we want to speak for our society, but why statues such as those of Edward Colston, were ever erected. As Williams puts it, there is a difference between “rewriting and reframing the past”; “it is not a matter of “airbrushing” history, but of adding a new perspective.”

The upstairs gallery will feature a new, three-screen video installation. Entitled Triptych (2020), the film is a homage to the centrepiece track on the radical, political album, ‘We Insist!’ (1960) by the jazz musician Max Roach – the ideas of which prefigured the themes that became the Civil Rights and anti-apartheid movements. Triptych, like the track, is sectioned into three parts: Prayer, Protest and Peace. The catalyst for this film was the broadcasted portraits of figures such as Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and the evident incongruity between the beguiling ordinariness of the images that represented them with the violent end we know they endured. Through a rare focus on portraiture, Akomfrah seeks to express the diversity of Black characters, characteristics and characterisations that should form the bedrock of any de-colonial or anti-racist future.

Contact: Website | Instagram

No items found.
No items found.
No items found.
No items found.

ARCHIVE

2023
Open Air Participatory Studio W/ Supervsn & Tommy Hilfiger
2023
Tabita Rezaire: Connectivity and Farming for the Future Screening with La Film Forum
2023
Brick By Brick - Sonic Artifact of the Artist Moving Into Stillness
sonic work, artifact, Tommy Hilfiger, Supervsn
2023
MOVING TOWARDS ELSEWHERE – A Curated Resource List For the Creative Producer
Borders, LGBTQ, Rights, Identity, Spatial Design
2023
ZANELE MUHOLI – Nize Nani
art; zanele-muholi; photography; photographer
2023
VOGUING AND BLACKNESS IN THE SECOND LIFE COMMUNITY – A Q+A with 3d designer 7th GIRL
fantasy; reality; 7th-grl; second-life; voguing
2023
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa – TWO TOGETHER
art; zeitz; two-together
2023
ZACHARAHA MAGASA – Rain or Shine!
art; zacharaha-magasa; sculpture
2023
WYCLIGGE MUNDOPA – What Makes Us
art; painting; wycliffe-mundopa
2023
VIRGIL ABLOH BROKE MY MIND – Celebrating V's Creative Legacy
2023
UFUOMA ESSI – From Where We Land
art; south-london-gallery; ufuoma-essi
2023
CHARMAINE WATKISS – The Seed Keepers
art; drawing; charmaine-watkins
2023
TIME DECORATED – The Musical Influences of Jean-Michel Basquiat
art; exhibitions; time-decorated; basquiat; the-broad
2023
VOLTAGE REVOLUTION Is Making London’s Creative Industry As Black As It Can Be
voltage-revolution; yoanna-pepper-chikezie; tech
2023
THE RECLAMATION PROJECT– Archives, Design, and Spatial Awareness
architecture; archive; legacy; scott-house; accra; ghana; reclamation-project; black-imagination; artistic-freedom
2023
THE OTHER SIDE OF PENTAPRISM – Group Show
art; tern-gallery; melissa-alcena; jodi-minnis; photography; painting
2023
THE BOOGIE MAN - Watch Lord Tusk’s 777 Visions
lord-tusk; boogeyman; africa; covid; artist
2023
TOUNGES - An Exhibition on Code Switching
art; photography; the-gallery
2023
OSCAR MURILLO – Stealing Time Interview
art; oscar-murillo; politics; colombia
2023
SOUNDHOUSE – Explore The Intimacy and Distance Listening Rooms
art; barbican; listening-room; soundhouse
2023
SENAY KENFE – On Mutual Aid
senay-kenfe; mutual-aid; reality; black-imagination
2023
SOMETHING ABOUT US – African and Black American Contemporary Art Recognition
art; anthony-gallery; something-about-us
2023
SACROSANCT – Three-Channel Film Installation by BLACK DISCOURSE
archipelago
2023
SALAH ELMUR - 'An Anniversary' Distortion and Color
art; gallery-57; painting; salah-elmur
2023
REGISTER – Black and Asian Feminist Perspectives on Immigration Virtual Salon
i-support-black-women; off-white-2; feminist; trinice-mcnally; jaimee-a-swift; nana-brantuo; salonee-bhaman; julie-ae-kim; tiffany-diane-tso
2023
Interview with VISUAL CONSTRUCT – Ritual Cleansing Experimental Art Zine
art; zine; visual-stress-collective
2023
RESISTING NARRATIVES OF ERASURE – Gender Freedom, Queer Liberation Across Diasporic
art; film; visionary-justice-storylab; shontina-vernon
2023
Preserving the Black Family Archive – THE BLACK IMAGE CENTER
photography; photographer; black-family-archive; black-image-center; leimert-park; the-gates-preserve; archive
2023
Résiste - SEJIRO AVOSEH and SALIFOU LINDOU
art; resiste; afikaris-gallery; sejiro-avoseh; salifou-lindou
2023
I SUPPORT BLACK WOMEN – Anielle Franco and Black Feminist Solidarity in Brazil
i-support-black-women; trinice-mcnally; jaimee-a-swift; black-women-radicals; virgil-abloh; anielle-franco; marielle-franco; brazil; black-feminism
2023
REGGIE BURROWS HODGES – On the Verge
art; reggie-burrows-hodges; exhibitions
2023
PATRICK ALSTON – I’ve Never Known Home
art; gallery-57; painting; patrick-alston
2023
ON BEING VALUED WITHOUT BEING UNDERSTOOD – A Choreographed Essay by Maceo Paisley
2023
PANAFEST ARCHIVE – Four Key Moments of a Pan-African Encounter
art; exhibitions; panafest
2023
OSCAR MURILLO - Frequencies
art; oscar-murillo; frequencies
2023
ON HEALING – Interview with Tasnim Morrison and words from Oyinda Yemi-Omowumi
healing; black-women; poetry; books; spoken-word; vulnerability; tasnim-morrison; oyinda-yemi-omowumi; audio; literature; recommendations; reviews; artistic-freedom; black-voices; black-feminism
2023
THREE CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN ARTISTS – Orita Meta - Crossroads
art; exhibitions; orita-meta; marcellina-akpojotor; tonia-nneji; chidinma-nnoli
2023
OLIVER OKOLO- I forgot to tell you, now listen
art; painting; oliver-okolo
2023
NIKITA GALE - Private Dancer
art; nikita-gale; private-dancer
2023
CURATED BY EKOW ESHUN – An Infinity of Traces
art; an-infinity-of-traces; lisson-gallery-2
2023
THE MUSEUM OF ARCHEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY – [Re:] Entanglements: Colonial collections in decolonial times
art; museum-of-archaeology-and-anthropology
2023
Museum of Design Atlanta – THE FUTURE HAPPENED – Designing the Future of Music
art; the-future-happened; museum-of-design-atlanta; lawrence-azerrad; ruby-savage; floyd-hall; marlon-fuentes
2023
MUNA MALIK – On Experiencing Artistic Freedom Through A Fantastical State of Mind
fantasy; reality; muna-malik; artistic-freedom
2023
LEILA ALAOUI - Rite of Passage (A Virtual Tour)
art; somerset-house; leila-alaoui
2023
Highlighting the Career of LUBAINA HIMID
art; lubaina-himid; painting
2023
ABSTRACTION, LANDSCAPE AND SCALE – Julie Mehretu
art; julie-mehretu; the-whitney-museum-of-american-art
2023
LIFE BETWEEN ISLANDS – Caribbean-British Art 1950s - Now
art; painting; photography; photographer; artist
2023
Interview with KIRTIS CLARKE – The Fluidity Of Blackness
kirtis-clarke; sculpture-2; art; performance; diaspora; blackness
2023
KAMOINGE WORKSHOP – Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop
art; whitney-museum-of-american-art; photography; kamoinge-workshop
2023
John Madu & Ousmane Niang – FIGURES OF POWER
art; afikaris; john-madu; ousmane-niang
2023
JOHN AKOMFRAH - The Unintended Beauty of Disaster
exhibitions; the-unintended-beauty-of-disaster; lisson-gallery
2023
JAMES BARNOR – A Retrospective
art; james-barnor; serpentine-north-gallery
2023
Image Frequency Modulation By ETHEL TAWE
artistic-freedom; art; video; photography; collage; memory; ethel-tawe
2023
WATCH – Everything You Wear is Political: Fashion & Black Feminist Politic Salon
i-support-black-women; feminist; off-white-2
2023
James June and Aziz Gallerie – BLACK SPECTRUM
art; black-spectrum; leimert-park; aziz-gallerie
2023
WATCH – Black and Asian Feminist Perspectives on Immigration Salon
i-support-black-women; off-white-2; feminist; trinice-mcnally; jaimee-a-swift; nana-brantuo; salonee-bhaman; julie-ae-kim; tiffany-diane-tso
2023
FACING FIRE – A Conversation with Emmanuel Awuni
emmanuel-awuni; healing; art; liberation; interview; painting; sculpture; audio; goldsmiths-university; royal-academy; artist; multi-disciplinary; london; vulnerability; george-floyd; fire
2023
“i just do it my way” written by LYDIA LUKE
reviews; black-lives-matter; trayvon-martin; toni-morrison; jenn-nkiru; theatre; identity; sza; jasmine-lee-jones; babirye-bukilwa; lydia-luke-2
2023
THE COLLECTIVE FOR BLACK IRANIANS present – Hasteem: We Are Here
art; collective-for-black-iranians; 12-gates; philadelphia
2023
HEAR HERE HERE –An Exploration of Black Femme Visions & Voices with Converse and For Freedoms
2023
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMONADE! Here Are 5 Visual Albums You Need to See!
music; visual-album
2023
HANK WILLIS THOMAS and TREMAINE EMORY – How Branding and Pop Culture Impact Black Civic Engagement
culture; fashion; art; voting; hank-willis-thomas; tremaine-emory; music
2023
HANA WARD – An Exit From This Room And Others Like It
art; hana-ward; an-exit-from-this-room-and-others-like-it
2023
HANK WILLIS THOMAS - Another Justice: Divided We Stand
art; hank-willis-thomas; artistic-freedom
2023
DEF SOUND Interviews ˈkwirē/ Director Jessica Emmanuel
def-sound; kwire; jessica-emmanuel; exhibit-aye
2023
GOPAL DAGNOGO – The Everyday Established as Sacred
art; two-together; gopal-dagnogo
2023
AFRICAN-NOW and DISOBEDIENT OBJECTS – An Interactive Decentralised Site
exhibitions; future-producers
2023
FINDING MAMI WATA – Through the Art She Inspires
mami-wata; art; black-imagination; legend; diaspora
2023
Five BLACK OWNED BOOKSTORES You Need to Visit
books; literature; blackowned-2; read-2; bookstore; book-shop; poetry; spoken-word; recommendations
2023
Everybody Dies! - AN EXHIBITION CENTERED AROUND DEATH
exhibitions; everybody-dies
2023
EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHT – Shattered Glass in Los Angeles
art; shattered-glass; aj-girard; melahn-frierson; deitch-gallery
2023
Did you ever think there would come a time? – GOODMAN GALLERY GRAND OPENING
exhibitions; art; goodman-gallery; kapwani-kiwanga; nolan-oswald-dennis; pamela-phatsimo-sunstrum; kudzanai-chiurai; misheck-masamvu
2023
DERRICK ADAMS - Style Variations Exhibition
art; derrick-adams; style-variations; salon-94
2023
DEMI UNIQUE on Intergenerational Creativity, Food and Care
food; demi-unique; artistic-freedom; black-imagination; fashion; community; creative
2023
Def Sound – DANCING W/ THEE DIALOGUE
fantasy; reality; def-sound; music; sonic-dissertation
2023
Cleto Maréz – SONIC DISSERTATION ON BLACK REALITY
art; fantasy; reality; cleto-marez; sonic-dissertation; music
2023
ARIANNE EDMONDS – On Memory Keeping, and Making and Finding Home
ghana; accra; los-angeles; archive; memory; homecoming; art; arianne-edmonds; atlanta; history; family; diaspora
2023
Cleto Maréz, Sonic Dissertation: EYE SUPPORT BLACK WOMEN
fantasy; reality; music; sonic-dissertation; cleto-marez; off-white-2; i-support-black-women
2023
WATCH – Back To Nigeria: A Homecoming Conversation
culture; nigeria; adesuwa-aighewi; grace-ladoja; tokyo-james; seni-saraki; ijemoa-ndukwe; yoanna-pepper-chikezie; acyde-odunlami; homecoming
2023
BLACK QUANTUM FUTURISM debuts film Write No History (2021)
art; black-quantum-futurism; past-present-projects
2023
Black Voices – FRIEND OF MINE – Group Exhibition
art; black-voices; ross-sutton-gallery
2023
Babes and Baddies – VISUAL INTERVIEW with Nolly Babes on Nigerian Feminism & Film
nolly-babes; nigeria; fantasy; reality; feminist; baddies; film; nollywood
2023
WATCH ARCHIPELAGO SOUND CLASH MEMPHIS - Afro-futurist Political Dance Party
2023
ANDREW PIERRE HART - The Listening Sweet Exhibition
art; the-listening-sweet; andrew-pierre-hart
2023
Streaming – THE MUNDANE AFROFUTURIST MANIFESTO
martine-syms; tisa-bryant; delroy-edwards; erin-christovale; nicole-miller
2023
AMY SHERALD - The Great American Fact
amy-sherald; the-great-american-fact; art
2023
GARRET BRADLEY – America
art; garrett-bradley; moma; video; america
2023
ALEXANDER RICHARD WILSON- burning butte
art; alexander-richard-wilson; burning-butte
2023
ADIBA MADUEGBUNA'S Tech Renaissance
2023
A SHOAL OF LOVERS LEADS ME HOME – A Short Story by Ama Josephine Budge
fantasy; reality; short-story; ama-josephine-budge
2023
28th NEW YORK AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL – ‘Notes from Home: Recurring Dreams & Women's Voices’
art; film; african; new-york; film-fest
2023
5 RECIPES FROM THE DIASPORA KITCHEN
food; diaspora-kitchen; jollof; tostones; tilapia; seafood-boil; hibiscus; culture
2023
A Guide on How to Unleash Black Imagination to Shape the Future by Aisha Shillingford
fantasy; reality; intelligent-mischief; aisha-shillingford; morena-osha; black-imagination; guide

related

MORE