Adeyemi Michael, Entitled, installation detail, Lagos Biennial 2019.
Born Ibadan, Nigeria (1985), lives and works in London, United Kingdom
Entitled 2019
Film, 4.00 mins; projected still image collage, 32 jacquard head ties and 1 pair of shoes
Courtesy of the artist
The production of this installation was made possible by the generous support of Anchoria Asset Management.
In this multi-part project, filmmaker Adeyemi Michael imagines the feelings and ambitions that accompanied his mother’s experience as an immigrant after moving, 32 years ago, from her country of origin, Nigeria, to Peckham in South London. Michael marks his mother’s journey with a sculptural assemblage of 32 ceremonial head ties known as gele, representing the number of years his mother spent outside of Nigeria. Meanwhile, the film’s imagery of horseback riding symbolises freedom – the ability to travel and move without restraint, just as the installation’s suspended pair of shoes conjures experiences of mobility. “As an immigrant what do you take with you when you leave your country of origin? Your tradition, your beliefs, your culture?”
