Approaches to Lagos: 6 ̊ 26' 22" N /3 ̊ 21' 30" E
Artistic Research Residency “Unsustainable Privileges” LAGOS/BERLIN
Lagos, Nigeria October and November 2018
Arthouse Foundation Lagos - SAVVY Contemporary, Galerie Wedding and ZKU Berlin
Art Exhibitions 2018
Gallerie Wedding, Berlin Germany and Omenka Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
This project was realized through an artist residency organized by SAVVY Contemporary, Galerie Wedding and ZKU Berlin, in collaboration with the Art House Foundation in Lagos, Nigeria. This program had the title “Unsustainable Privileges”. I was invited to spend 7 weeks in the city of Lagos, with the proposed theme of investigating the rhythms of the port of Apapa. As an artistic research residence, the main purpose was to generate documentation and a collection of data about elements of logistics and marine navigation, as well as to generate a network of contacts that would support the communication dynamics between Berlin and Lagos. My proposal was to observe the presence of certain mythological elements of the god Orisha Olokun of the Yoruba religion, as an interpretation of the rhythms that define the urban context, through the inherent presence of port activities in the lagoon. Lagos is a city defined by its aquatic context and Apapa is the largest container port in West Africa. The presence of the port and its logistics, although apparently distant from the urban daily life, infiltrates the streets and their rhythms through the different transportation routes, as well as in the demands of the formal and informal market. Approaches to Lagos generated material for an installation-type exhibition presenting documentation material in the form of video, sound, photography and the production of interpretive graphics of the spatial relationships in the area. On the other hand, I started a creative relationship with a youth performance group called “Footprints of David” based in the Barriga neighborhood in Lagos. The work with these young people had the format of body perception workshops, based on the concept of "situational awareness". An essential skill in marine navigation professions, it trains the body to have an acute perception of the environment in order to anticipate dangers and react in a prepared way to the unexpected. The result of the workshops was presented as a performance intervention during the opening night of the final exhibition in Lagos.
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