VENOM VOYAGE, 2023
solo exhibition
ETH / GTA EXHIBITIONS (Zurich, CH)
Curated by Fredi Fischli, Niels Olsen & Simon Gerard
For her show at gta exhibitions, ETH Zurich, Oyiri explores themes of colonial alienation and
alternative temporalities. A newly produced group of works highlights the discrepancy between the image of Guadeloupe and Martinique as idyllic holiday destinations and the reality the two islands face today – the contamination of soil and water due to pesticide used in farming, leading to severe health issues, most notably cancer.
The artist approaches the subject through the lens of her own personal involvement: her childhood memories of
happy holidays in her native country embroiled with what she faces returning as an adult
today. In VENOM VOYAGE, an immersive installation reminiscent of a travel agency, we are lured by familiar images of adventure, fun and relaxation, only to be confronted with the clash between the reality of toxic, colonized landscapes and our distorted imaginary of them.
Text written by Geraldine Tedder
solo exhibition
ETH / GTA EXHIBITIONS (Zurich, CH)
Curated by Fredi Fischli, Niels Olsen & Simon Gerard
For her show at gta exhibitions, ETH Zurich, Oyiri explores themes of colonial alienation and
alternative temporalities. A newly produced group of works highlights the discrepancy between the image of Guadeloupe and Martinique as idyllic holiday destinations and the reality the two islands face today – the contamination of soil and water due to pesticide used in farming, leading to severe health issues, most notably cancer.
The artist approaches the subject through the lens of her own personal involvement: her childhood memories of
happy holidays in her native country embroiled with what she faces returning as an adult
today. In VENOM VOYAGE, an immersive installation reminiscent of a travel agency, we are lured by familiar images of adventure, fun and relaxation, only to be confronted with the clash between the reality of toxic, colonized landscapes and our distorted imaginary of them.
Text written by Geraldine Tedder
UNBOUND: PERFORMANCE AS RUPTURE, 2023
group exhibition
Julia Stoschek Foundation (Berlin, Germany)
Curated by Lisa Long and Line Ajan
In Collective Amnesia: In Memory of Logobi, artist and DJ Christelle Oyiri excavates the origin and forgotten history of Logobi, a dance that emerged in the late 1980s in the streets of Abidjan in the Côte d’Ivoire, before being transported to the banlieues (suburban zones) of Paris, home to many Black French communities, in the late 2000s. Drawing on the Ivorian Zouglou dance, as well as on mime, Logobi is characterized by rapid movements that match the fast rhythms of the music, which mixes French tecktonik with French Ivorian coupé-décalé. As Logobi enthusiasts performed on the streets and in subway stations, they filmed their dance battles. These media archives went overlooked, not only due to the wider erasure of Black and Afrodiasporic culture in France and Europe, but also because of a form of amnesia within those Black communities, some of whom dismissed Logobi as a pejorative attribute of “blédards” (a derogatory term in French used against North African immigrants and their customs). Layering 3D animations, staged scenes, and found footage, Oyiri revives the initial digital ecosystem surrounding Logobi, a genre that both occupied public space and had a distinct life online.
Text written by Line Ajan
COLLECTIVE AMNESIA: IN MEMORY OF LOGOBI, 2018–22, HD VIDEO, 14′42″, COLOR, SOUND.
group exhibition
Julia Stoschek Foundation (Berlin, Germany)
Curated by Lisa Long and Line Ajan
In Collective Amnesia: In Memory of Logobi, artist and DJ Christelle Oyiri excavates the origin and forgotten history of Logobi, a dance that emerged in the late 1980s in the streets of Abidjan in the Côte d’Ivoire, before being transported to the banlieues (suburban zones) of Paris, home to many Black French communities, in the late 2000s. Drawing on the Ivorian Zouglou dance, as well as on mime, Logobi is characterized by rapid movements that match the fast rhythms of the music, which mixes French tecktonik with French Ivorian coupé-décalé. As Logobi enthusiasts performed on the streets and in subway stations, they filmed their dance battles. These media archives went overlooked, not only due to the wider erasure of Black and Afrodiasporic culture in France and Europe, but also because of a form of amnesia within those Black communities, some of whom dismissed Logobi as a pejorative attribute of “blédards” (a derogatory term in French used against North African immigrants and their customs). Layering 3D animations, staged scenes, and found footage, Oyiri revives the initial digital ecosystem surrounding Logobi, a genre that both occupied public space and had a distinct life online.
Text written by Line Ajan
COLLECTIVE AMNESIA: IN MEMORY OF LOGOBI, 2018–22, HD VIDEO, 14′42″, COLOR, SOUND.
HYPERFATE, 2023
solo exhibition
The Shop at Sadies Cole HQ (London, UK)
Curated by Ben Broome
“Mixing visual artifacts from her upbringing with rap ephemera, this short rumination on fate sees the filmmaker place her distant memories in conversation with objects from mass culture. Doing so, she arrives at a new understanding of rappers’ place in the present imaginary.
Reflecting on rappers Tupac Shakur, PNB Rock, Pop Smoke, Takeoff and XXXTentacion’s untimely deaths, Oyiri asks, “Did these young shooting stars already know their fate?” After including images of a supernova at the beginning of HYPERFATE, her question carries an implicit cosmic weight. In her grievance, she cannot help but wonder if there’s an unexplainable prophecy at play in their deaths, as well as that of other young rappers. Her belief in this prophecy registers as a unique form of coping with this tragic history.”
Text written by Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer
HYPERFATE, 2023, HD VIDEO, 13”, COLOR, SOUND.
solo exhibition
The Shop at Sadies Cole HQ (London, UK)
Curated by Ben Broome
“Mixing visual artifacts from her upbringing with rap ephemera, this short rumination on fate sees the filmmaker place her distant memories in conversation with objects from mass culture. Doing so, she arrives at a new understanding of rappers’ place in the present imaginary.
Reflecting on rappers Tupac Shakur, PNB Rock, Pop Smoke, Takeoff and XXXTentacion’s untimely deaths, Oyiri asks, “Did these young shooting stars already know their fate?” After including images of a supernova at the beginning of HYPERFATE, her question carries an implicit cosmic weight. In her grievance, she cannot help but wonder if there’s an unexplainable prophecy at play in their deaths, as well as that of other young rappers. Her belief in this prophecy registers as a unique form of coping with this tragic history.”
Text written by Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer
HYPERFATE, 2023, HD VIDEO, 13”, COLOR, SOUND.
FASTER THAN THIS IS SUICIDE, 2023
performance
Serpentine Galleries (London, UK)
Curated by Claude Adjil
Written by Christelle Oyiri
Music and performance by Covco, Oxhy, Nandita, CRYSTALLMESS
Scenography by Hannah Rose Stewart
´FASTER THAN THIS IS SUICIDE’ - A sonic poem, an ode to an impossible path to slowness and reflection, a remedy against mortuary accelerationnism that only leaves us drained with the ephemerality of networks.
A farewell letter to Mark Fisher, and all the souls that have been crushed by the weight of an hyper-powered cruelty, that they clocked before anybody else.
Photos | Hugo Glendinning
performance
Serpentine Galleries (London, UK)
Curated by Claude Adjil
Written by Christelle Oyiri
Music and performance by Covco, Oxhy, Nandita, CRYSTALLMESS
Scenography by Hannah Rose Stewart
´FASTER THAN THIS IS SUICIDE’ - A sonic poem, an ode to an impossible path to slowness and reflection, a remedy against mortuary accelerationnism that only leaves us drained with the ephemerality of networks.
A farewell letter to Mark Fisher, and all the souls that have been crushed by the weight of an hyper-powered cruelty, that they clocked before anybody else.
Photos | Hugo Glendinning