Text by CLOT Magazine
Nigerian sound and installation artist Emeka Ogboh lives in Berlin, but he is best known for his soundscapes of life in contemporary Lagos. In his work, he explores how hearing and taste experiences shape our cultural identity and raises critical questions surrounding the topics of migration, globalisation and post-colonialism.
His works have been presented in documenta 14, Athens/Kassel, 56th Venice Biennale and Dakar Biennale. His solo exhibitions include Tate Modern, London, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC.
Now for the first time in Germany, the Kunstmuseum Ravensburg is exhibiting Emeka Ogboh’s sound and light installation, The Way Earthly Things are Going. Created in 2017 for the documenta 14 in Athens, the installation explores the impact of the international financial crisis, particularly the Greek economic crisis.
The Way Earthly Things are Going combines a polyphonic ancient Greek lamentation with market data from the stock indices, which are transmitted onto an LED strip in real time. Ogboh creates a dialogue between the ongoing reports from the capital markets and the poignant chant about forced migration and the search for a better life. He creates an experience out of sound and moving image that makes one reflect on the interaction between migration and the global economy.
The Way Earthly Things Are Going runs until February 7, 2021.
