Emeka Ogboh
Exhibition|Elu Na Álà (Sky and Earth)
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Beursschouwburg, Brüssel
- Price Free admission
Emeka Ogboh is internationally renowned for his works that engage all five human senses. His installations explore the relationship between sensory perception and critical reflection on cultural heritage, memory, and belonging. In his diverse artistic practice, Ogboh focuses on the sociological implications of migration, with an emphasis on the African diaspora in postcolonial Europe.
For his first independent exhibition in Belgium, Ogboh has conceived an installation titled "Elu na Àlá" (Sky and Earth). The work invites visitors to experience the earthy scent of rain-soaked soil and the soundscape of rainfall. It creates a contemplative space where smell, sound and sight converge, evoking the cultural resonance of petrichor – the distinctive scent when rain falls on dry ground.
Drawing on Chinua Achebe’s evocation of the rainy season in "Things Fall Apart", "Elu Na Álà" (Sky and Earth) explores themes of resilience, natural cycles, cosmology and community within the Igbo culture to which Ogboh belongs. In the Igbo worldview, the rainy season embodies both physical and spiritual renewal. Petrichor, in this context, becomes a metaphor for resilience and rebirth after a long drought, in both a literal and symbolic sense.
Emeka Ogboh, a Nigerian artist living between Berlin and Lagos, has presented his work at major international platforms including the Dakar Biennale (2014), the Venice Biennale (2015), documenta 14 in Athens and Kassel (2017), and the Gwangju Biennale (2024).
The exhibition is overseen by Belgian curator Evelyn Simons, who lives and works in Brussels. Evelyn directed the artistic programme at Horst Arts & Music from 2018 to 2023 and, in 2024, co-founded RendezVous - Brussels Art Week, where she now serves as co-director.
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Location
A. Ortsstraat 20-28
1000 Brüssel
Belgium