Seun Keshiro, Marx’s Circus – Makoko, details, courtesy of the artist 2019.
Born London, England (1993), lives and works in London, United Kingdom
Marx’s Circus – Makoko 2019
MArch thesis project
Courtesy of the artist
The traffic on Third Mainland Bridge is notorious in the city of Lagos. What should be a 20 minute journey could take the best part of a day if started at specific times of day. At first glance, the traffic on the bridge appears to be no more than the buildup of cars. However careful analysis of the movement patterns of a selection of the bridge users makes it apparent that the socio-economic dynamic in the city is at the core of the traffic. The bridge is a melting pot for Lagosians of every economic status. By trying to fulfill their individual agendas, the residents of the city create dysfunctional conditions at the points at which they converge, the bridge being one of such points.
Marx’s Circus presents a poetic intervention along the 12 km Third Mainland Bridge with the intention of reducing the volume of traffic on the bridge and improving the quality of life of every Lagosian. The proposal employs the use of cross-programming of spaces as well as an array of existing and emerging technology to suggest methods of addressing some of the wider social and economic issues in Lagos such as poverty, power supply and pollution.
Karl Marx believed that capitalism would eventually be swallowed up by its internal contradictions in what he termed ‘The dictatorship of the proletariat’. However Marx’s predictions have not yet come true in Lagos because whilst social inequality is pervasive in the city, the parties have worked around that. Marx’s Circus challenges the dichotomy between capitalism and socialism by presenting an environment where products of the two contradictory socio-economic stances are beneficial for both parties.
