Ayo Akingbade: Show Me The World Mister

About

Ayo Akingbade’s films tell stories about people and places and their relationship to power, history, legacy and labour. Show Me The World Mister is a new commission that includes two films shot on location in Nigeria; The Fist and Faluyi. 

The Fist, shot on 35mm film,is a portrait of the first Guinness brewery built outside Ireland and the United Kingdom, 12 miles from the centre of Lagos. A modernist-style factory, it was completed in 1962, after Nigeria’s independence from Britain. The film follows the rhythm of a working day, the comings and goings of workers and the activity on the assembly and packing lines. The Fist brings together the interwoven histories of industrialisation and labour and the deep-rooted politics of Guinness production in Nigeria.

The second film, Faluyi, considers the artist’s own relationship with Nigeria. It follows the character Ife as she begins a journey tracing her family’s legacy in ancestral land. The film was shot on 16mm film in the Idanre Hills, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Ondo State, close to the birthplace of the artist’s parents. Panoramic views of hills and forests form the backdrop to a tale of loss and longing, that turns to hope and celebration.

The commission and its acquisition by the Whitworth, The University of Manchester collection, are made possible with Art Fund support. With additional support from the Chisenhale Gallery Commissions Fund and WEVAA (West of England Visual Arts Alliance).

Akingbade works predominantly with moving image, addressing notions of power, urbanism and stance. Interested in the fluid boundaries between the self and the other, she gathers local and cultural experiences in intimate and playful interpretations.

Ayo Akingbade is an artist, writer, and director based in London. Selected screenings and exhibitions include: A Glittering City: Ayo Akingbade with Duchamp & Sons, Whitechapel Gallery, London; An Infinity of Traces, Lisson Gallery, London (both 2021); Towner International Biennial, Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne (2020); No News Today, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2019); and Urban Rhapsodies, Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York (2017). Her work has been shown at Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, and the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, among others.

Produced by Chisenhale Gallery and Spike Island, Bristol, and commissioned by Chisenhale Gallery; Spike Island; the Whitworth, The University of Manchester; Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead; and John Hansard Gallery, Southampton.