Temitayo Ogunbiyi

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, «You will hands up» (Detail), 2019, varnished Japanese ink and acrylic on found fabric 54 x 34.8 in © Courtesy the artist

Temitayo Ogunbiyi
You will follow the Rhein and compose play

18 October 2023 – 14 January 2024

Temitayo Ogunbiyi (born 1984, lives in Lagos, Nigeria) works across different media, making drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations that address major issues facing society today: global networking, cultural exchange, migration and our treatment of the natural world. Museum Tinguely presents her two-part project You will follow the Rhein and compose play: a playground sculpture was installed in Solitude Park in May 2023 and the accompanying exhibition features works made since 2016 as well as objects made specifically for the show.

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Playgrounde - You will follow the Rhein and compose play in Solitude Park, 2023 Steel and manila rope, dimensions variable © Museum Tinguely, photo: Matthias Willi

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Playgrounde - You will follow the Rhein and compose play in Solitude Park, 2023
Steel and manila rope, dimensions variable
© Museum Tinguely, photo: Matthias Willi

The cooperation between Museum Tinguely and Temitayo Ogunbiyi began in May 2023 with the installation of a play sculpture covering a surface of approx. 11 x 11 meters in Solitude Park, part of Ogunbiyi’s Playground series that invites people of all ages to move and interact socially. The commissioned site-specific work draws on different sources of inspiration: the steel poles wrapped in manila rope recall plant structures and the complex styles of Nigerian hair culture. Their curving shapes trace trade and travel routes between Basel and Lagos, encouraging people to think about worldwide flows of people and goods.

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will find a spirit within all that is living, 2019 Varnished Japanese ink and acrylic on found fabric, 54 x 34.8 in © Courtesy the artist

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will find a spirit within all that is living, 2019
Varnished Japanese ink and acrylic on found fabric
137.2 x 88.4 cm
© Courtesy the artist

The upcoming presentation on the lower floor at Museum Tinguely is the second part of the project. It is the first overview of Ogunbiyi’s practice in Switzerland, with works made since 2016 as well as objects made specifically for the show. In many cases, she took her inspiration from the City of Basel itself – as a place where possibilities for interaction open up in the form of meetings, conversations, and cooperations across diverse cultures, countries, languages, and goods. The exhibition includes drawings and design elements that offer insights into Ogunbiyi’s approach to her Playgrounds, as well as other works on paper that depict plants and fruits, the result of her engagement with local vegetation and the importing of foreign types of fruit and vegetables.

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Temitayo Ogunbiyi in front of her installation You will follow the Rhein and compose play in Solitude Park, 2023
Steel and manila rope, dimensions variable
© Museum Tinguely, photo: Matthias Willi

Temitayo Ogunbiyi has lived in Lagos, Nigeria for over 10 years. She was born in Rochester, New York in 1984 and grew up in Gwynedd, Pennsylvania. She received her BA from Princeton University, New Jersey in 2006 and her MA in Curatorial Studies and Critical Art Theory from Columbia University, New York in 2011. Her work has since been shown in numerous exhibitions in St. Louis, Lagos, London, Brooklyn, Perm, Bratislava, Naples, and most recently in 2022 at the Berlin Biennale and in Eindhoven. The artist has received numerous grants and awards, including a Smithsonian Artist in Research Fellowship and a Ford Foundation Fellowship.

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will find new framing in crafts of old, 2023 Pencil, watercolour, ink and acrylic on herbarium paper, second-hand furniture Installation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023 © Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will find new framing in crafts of old, 2023

Pencil, watercolour, ink and acrylic on herbarium paper, second-hand furniture

Installation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023© Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will find new framing in crafts of old, 2023 Pencil, watercolour, ink and acrylic on herbarium paper, second-hand furniture Installation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023 © Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will find new framing in crafts of old, 2023Pencil, watercolour, ink and acrylic on herbarium paper, second-hand furnitureInstallation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023© Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will follow the Rhein and compose play (playground matting), 2023 playground matting Installation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023 © Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will follow the Rhein and compose play (playground matting), 2023

playground matting

Installation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023

© Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will see how one gesture can shift perspectives, 2020 Ink and acrylic on found fabric Installation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023 © Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will see how one gesture can shift perspectives, 2020

Ink and acrylic on found fabric

Installation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023

© Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will follow the Rhein and compose play (instrument), 2023 Brass, steel, bronze, concrete, olive wood, yellow Numidian marble and kitchen utensils Installation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023 © Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will follow the Rhein and compose play (instrument), 2023

Brass, steel, bronze, concrete, olive wood, yellow Numidian marble and kitchen utensilsInstallation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023

© Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

In this show, the artist experiments with sustainable and playful forms of presentation. For example, visitors can explore the content of discarded vintage furniture – an intimate exhibition situation reflecting the ways data and information are stored and preserved, and the population groups to which they are made accessible. Finally, various strands of research have flowed into the development of a new musical instrument. Made out of curved brass rods and kitchen utensils sourced in Basel, the instrument examines links to various communities in Basel via their cuisine and music. The instrument will be activated during guided tours of the exhibition.

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Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will follow the Rhein and compose play (instrument), 2023
Brass, steel, bronze, concrete, olive wood, yellow Numidian marble and kitchen utensils
Installation view Temitayo Ogunbiyi. You will follow the Rhein and compose play at Museum Tinguely, Basel, 2023
© Courtesy the artist, photo: Museum Tinguely, Basel, Bettina Matthiessen

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will peel in patience and indulge in the sweetest bursts and seedlings, 2022 Acrylic and pencil on herbarium paper 16.5 x 11.5 in © Courtesy the artist

Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will peel in patience and indulge in the sweetest bursts and seedlings, 2022
Acrylic and pencil on herbarium paper, 41.9 x 29.2 cm
© Courtesy the artist

The exhibition is created in collaboration with Culturescapes 2023 Sahara, which focuses on the Saharan space as the one where reconnecting and reimagining Africa is possible.

Curated by Roland Wetzel, Curatorial Assistant: Tabea Panizzi

 

With the kind support of:
Blaukreuz-Brockenhallen, Basel, Reinach
Brockenbude Glubos
Hiob International

Concert at Museum Tinguely on 18.11.2023

Students of the percussion class Christian Dierstein play the installation by Temitayo Ogunbiyi

Performer:
Maria Luisa Pizzighella
Pablo Mena Escudero
Alejandro Neves Sarriegui
Santiago Villar Martín
Christian Dierstein

In collaboration with the Hochschule für Musik Basel, the Musik-Akademie Basel and Sonic Space Basel.