Emeka Ogboh

James Cohan is pleased to present Notes on Exile, the first US gallery exhibition of work by multimedia artist Emeka Ogboh, on view at 48 Walker Street from October 28 through December 17, 2021. This exhibition marks the US premiere of The Way Earthly Things Are Going, 2017, Ogboh’s internationally acclaimed work from documenta 14. The gallery will host a masked reception on Thursday, October 28, from 6-8 PM. Proof of vaccination will be required for entry. 

To explore the exhibition in our Viewing Room, please click here. 

The Nigerian-born, Berlin-based artist Emeka Ogboh’s multi-sensory practice explores the transient nature of culture. Ogboh refers to the “ubiquity of sonority” as a mnemonic device, creating sound and multimedia installations that prick collective memories of place. Likewise, he crafts flavors from varying regions of the world into blended gastronomic experiences, mimicking intricate narratives of migration. His practice is rooted in synthesizing sounds found in his home country of Nigeria—such as the bustle of a Lagos marketplace and bus stop or the harmonized singing in an Igbo ámà’ (village square)—into institutions and cityscapes of the global north. These soundscapes help examine critical questions about the movement of people across the globe. While the artist uses sound as a unifying concept, Ogboh’s sonographic works complicate individual ideas of identity and belonging. With a multimedia body of work ranging from the audiovisual to the gustatory, Emeka Ogboh encourages an ethico-political reflection of diaspora.