Issuu

Have you ever wondered what the world would be if the earth beneath your feet could no longer hold your body, If others did not die for you to live, If we could not draw inspiration from the old?

Dwarves Perch The Where

A Curatorial Project by Chris Udoh

Where The Dwarves Perch draws inspiration from a metaphor coined by the twelfth-century French philosopher Bernard of Chartres, who said that we are like ‘dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants’, since the latter should allow us to see more and at a greater distance. In this connection, at a time when our collective future is in jeopardy, this touring exhibition highlights the importance of our cultural heritages in enabling a more responsible and creative relationship with our natural environment. It also highlights artists who have been employing ancient African forms of storytelling to respond to contemporary issues and questions. This show is particularly interested in bringing to light, artists with experimental approaches to expressing ideas around memory, ancestry and the earth, transcending geographical boundaries and facilitating a crosscultural dialogue.

The exhibition resonates with Zietz MOCCA's commitment as an educational museum to engage, enrich and inspire local and global audiences. The aim of the exhibition is also to provide a participatory space for the visitor, who is invited, for instance, to play traditional African sand games, as well as appreciate the ecological wisdom underpinning the various artistic installations.

Where The Dwarves Perch is divided in three sub parts that can also be expanded to be independent shows.

Thrones Born of Blood and Bones:

An Ode to the ones who died for us to live. This part of the exhibition explores deeply unpopular martyrs who have contributed to the growth of contemporary African societies.

The One Whose Back We Stand On:

An Ode to earth which has been faithful to holding the weight of our bodies.

This beat of the exhibition highlights African ecological wisdom and subtly uses the nostalgia of earthed games to remind us to take care of the earth and (re)appreciate it as our universal home. It reminds us of what the world was like before it became concrete.

Stools of Spirit and Flesh:

An Ode to ancestral wisdom/philosophies and their eﬀect on contemporary society.

This section of the exhibition emphasizes on the ancestral forms of storytelling embodied by modern artists to tell contemporary stories. It investigates the sustainability of cultural bio-spacial wisdom and its relevance in today’s world.

For instance, Jedalo and Laisa’s art collaboration, Memory’s Place (currently in development) is an experimental performance piece that triggers the understanding of oneself. It creates room for accessing ancestral memories through space and site-speciﬁc sounds. Prune Nourry, a french sculptor, worked with an incredible team of art students from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, to create terracotta styled statues in memory of the girls kidnapped 8 years ago at Chibok (Borno State, Nigeria). This collaboration did not just give an opportunity to use old artistic methods to tell contemporary stories, but created tangible modern monuments as a form of social activism for victims of insurgencies. This buttresses the role of art in speaking when we run out of ink and words; in remembering when we forget.

Beyond these broader themes, Where The Dwarves Perch creates a space for each viewer to remember the people and things that have formed them personally, thereby paying homage to the village that raised them. It does this by providing opportunities for self reﬂection and participation with the exhibition space itself.

Key themes: Homage, Nostalgia, Ecological Sustainability

Where The Dwarves Perch

Tentative list of Artists

Statues Also Breath (2022) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClZQ7oijCdI/

Karikpo Pipeline (2015)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXjmB6blnHe/

Sweet Potato (2019)

The Last Time I called (2022) Film/ Installation/ Photography

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUzLwCyjjyT/

Laisa

Both artists are working on a collaborative video-performance based installation “Memory’s Place” https://www.instagram.com/p/CUdv2rxIfTk/

https://www.instagram.com/victorsozaboy/

https://www.instagram.com/small_and_slightly_strange/

https://www.instagram.com/oﬃcial.stunna_/

https://www.instagram.com/versaphile/

https://www.instagram.com/adeniyiadewole_/

https://www.instagram.com/oluoninsta/

Zizipho Poswa

https://www.instagram.com/zizipo_poswa/

https://www.instagram.com/taymoon_art/

https://www.instagram.com/avabintagiallo/

https://www.instagram.com/ritamawuena/

https://www.instagram.com/ralphborland/

https://www.instagram.com/sisonkepapu/

https://www.instagram.com/manyaku_mash/

Manyaku Mashilo

https://www.instagram.com/andiledyalvane/

https://www.instagram.com/gladyskalichini/

Gladys Kalichini

https://www.instagram.com/sashahuber/

Some Works From The Permanent Collection of

Yemisi Shyllon Museum Art, Lagos

Exhibition Display and Moodboard

Totally Sanded Exhibition Space that is half ruined

Large projection screens for Performance Film Installations

Dark Themed Walls

Educational Programs

Art education is a the core of this exhibition. I am particularly interested in programming engaging learning modules that are social and multi-dimensional. Where The Dwarves Perch explores various themes that creates solid reference points for many educational activities to spring from. Kindly ﬁnd some educational programs below:

Treasure Hunt Day Government School Outreach

Game based learning that involves participation and understanding of the exhibition.

Suitable for audiences of diﬀerent categories

Families, large groups, students, children

Scalable for the whole collection

Full day art outreaches to government schools who do not have funding for tours, to teach regenerative art making through scraps and performances. Suitable for audiences in 10-17