I'm Toyin Ojih Odutola and this is 'A Countervailing Theory'
To countervail is to offset the effect of something by introducing
another thing of equal force to counter it
It's an interesting framework for looking at the dynamics of power
I also think it works well for histories
Power derives much of its strength from the stories we tell,
so the activity of myth-making can be a
means to help you ask difficult questions
What you'll experience in The Curve gallery at the Barbican,
is a story told through multiple viewpoints
geological, philosophical and material
This is an investigation into mythology and in doing so it arrives at a place
where a new kind of understanding can be introduced
You are experiencing an ACT, the acronym of the exhibition's title
'A Countervailing Theory'
It's a theory I developed over the course of a year,
creating this new commission felt like I rolled a scroll of paper in front of me,
began to draw a line, and just 'let it arrive'
A drawn document on multiple scales
along the curved walls of the gallery
I kept saying to myself 'I need to know where this leads',
but that resulted in rash decisions I would later regret
The method of writing blindly then editing later wasn't an option
I had to contend with the story as it happened
adjusting to every choice in order to keep moving
I struggled to find a reason for the lines I was drawing
which were imposed by restrictions of palette
The research involved helped to build the theory
around this myth and took on its own story
The proclivities of mark-making, how I kept returning
to the same forms, the same tones, the same landscape,
gave me structure and license to understand why this was happening
On one side I was freewheeling, and on the other it was all mining;
the essence of countervailing
This activity constructed a myth of an ancient people who could have lived in
a region called Jos Plateau, in central Nigeria
A land I'd never visited, yet the moment I could name it,
I felt an intimate connection
Meandering sounds carry you through this multilayered theory
as you engage with the parable of this ancient civilisation and the
decisions they made when posed with difficult questions
Peter Adaye's immersive compositiion tracks your movements to
echo the chapters whenever you cross them
There are monochromatic gradations which extend beyond the works,
structurally into the walls
Together they chronicle the tale of Eshu rulers, a community of women warriors,
and their manufactured Koba laborers, humanoid men who were created
by the Eshu to serve them
Two classes of people who coexist within a striated system,
a system so entrenched it's intrinsic to their life
There are many divisions between the Eshu and the Koba
They don't speak the same language, they don't value the same things,
the idea of any cross-pollination between them seems impossible
However,
Akanke, an Eshu, and Aldo, a Koba,
cross forbidden paths to develop a profound friendship
which fundamentally disrupts the system
Every step you take in this exhibition poses a series of questions
You have no other option but to travel forward with Akanke and Aldo,
just like them you can't retrace your steps
The parable ends in a place of uncertainty predicated on the choices that they
have made and the choices you have made as you travelled with them
You will arrive at a pillar at the end
I hope you take your time with it
Thank you, for navigating through this with me