Kòrónà Stomp is a digital performance piece that uses photography, video, sound, texts, and GIFs to situate the viewer in a ‘Covidscape.’

This Festivals of The Future commission asks “How can we be present in the absence?” It foregrounds discussions on the ideas of connection, movement and proximity.

The Coronavirus pandemic has magnified questions on the notion of presence and absence in our collective human existence, and it has exacerbated the reality of those on the fringes.

The starting question for this piece is, “Is there a performance without the presence of the performer?” and, “If the medium is digital, is it still performative?” The new collective rituals of washing hands, staying apart, wearing masks etc. has made day-to-day life performative.

It is in this framework that artist Ayọ̀ Akínwándé has deployed 15 works – photographs, videos, archive materials, sound, GIF, and texts – in a performative way to reflect on the notion of presence and absence, using the coronavirus situation as a centre point.

The title of the piece is inspired by the Frank Stella painting “Hyena Stomp”, which was inspired by the tune of the same title by American ragtime and jazz musician Jelly Roll Morton . The idea of syncopation, which informed both the work of Stella and Morton, is used in Akínwándé’s work, set in a context where our regular flow of rhythm is being obstructed by the pandemic.

While the piece was to be staged in physical format, it has been adapted digitally due to Covid restrictions, and the audience can navigate this interactive piece using the floor plan of the gallery space as a backdrop.

Ayọ̀ Akínwándé is an artist, activist, curator, and writer from Lagos. With an academic training in Architecture, his oeuvre is engineered towards a social critique of the built environment. He works across lens-based media, texts, sculpture, installation, sound and performance.

Akínwándé co-curated the inaugural 2017 Lagos Biennial. His works and art writings have been featured in publications around the world. In 2019, he presented solo exhibitions in Nigeria, Scotland, and Cuba for the 13th Bienal De La Habana.

Akínwándé is a recipient of the 2020 Edith-Russ-Haus Media Art Award, and the 2019 Place Publique prize by the Fonderie Darling, Montréal.

www.ayoakinwande.com

By Ayọ̀ Akínwándé
Collaborators: Freddie Darke, Olasunkanmi Abayomi, Benjamin Udezi, Laura Ramirez Palacio, Paula Callus, Elena Rosauro.
Captions: Collective Text; AB Silvera, Emilia Beatriz in conversation with Ayọ̀ Akínwándé & Jamie Rea

Video:
Ayọ̀ Akínwándé, Wash Your Hands, 2021, Performance, 00:37seconds

Images:
Ayọ̀ Akínwándé, Scottish Independence Flag, 2021, Digital Design.
Ayọ̀ Akínwándé, Kòrónà Stomp, 2021, 3D Experience, GIF.

A FESTIVALS OF THE FUTURE COMMISSION festivalsofthefuture.org