Hilarities + Unrest
Exhibition + EP
The Luminary split my sides | April 9 - July 16, 2022
The exhibition’s title derives from Maya Angelou’s poem and performance, “The Mask,” of which she writes to honor the "survival apparatus" performed by Black folks to conceal pain through laughter:
WHEN I THINK ABOUT MYSELF
I ALMOST LAUGH MYSELF TO DEATH...
I LAUGH SO HARD HA! HA! I ALMOS’ CHOKE
WHEN I THINK ABOUT MYSELF.
Ogbara and Ross tend to this concealed space of the Black trans and feminine interior. Through the natural forms of ceramic sculpture and the digital registers of sound and film, they spatialize this interior into an emotional landscape with which we can engage. Their production of space contests the ground beneath our feet, freeing their position as they assert a sense of self.
Among the highlights of the exhibition is A Bellow of My Laughter Pt 1. and Pt 2., a ceramic and sonic work by Ogbara that combines curvaceous lines, ambiguous bodily form, simultaneously cosmic and organic texture, and frenetic sound to speak to an unnameable state of being. Ross revisits Sonic Rupture: songs for(e) the swarm, an ongoing project recreated with new collaborators, to design a site-specific architecture. This multi-channel video installation is an exercise in the emotional range necessary for Black trans beings.
split my sides is organized by Stephanie Koch, Gallery Director. Related programming includes artist performances, curator-led tours, a listening party, and a workshop led by Ladi’Sasha Jones, for dates that are to be announced. The exhibition is accompanied by a limited edition vinyl record produced with support from Experimental Sound Studio in Fall 2022.
As part of the spring 2022 exhibition, split my sides, featuring Lola Ayisha Ogbara and Amina Ross, The Luminary is proud to produce split my sides, the album.
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split EP -- Hilarities and Unrest // Sonic Rupture: songs for(e) the swarm iteration 004
a limited edition of 100 vinyl 12" albums for a one-time pressing
available now for pre-sale, expected shipping early 2023
the album will have a limited supply of albums available at $25.00, so the work is more accessible, pay what you can.
theluminaryarts.com/shop-the-lumina…sides-the-album
Side A
Lola Ayisha Ogbara — Hilarities & Unrest
A1 — mama, mama 3:53
A2 — 2 in the bush 6:15
A3 — a bellow of my laughter [Part 2] 1:50
A4 — bdb [blacker da berry] 3:36
A5 — SHUKA SHUKA 3:35
EP release date:16 July 2022