Ojudun Taiwo Jacob: What If?
May 30, 2019
The Treehouse
77 Awolowo Road
Ikoyi
The Arthouse Foundation, in partnership with Goethe Institut and The Treehouse, presented What If?, an experimental film and live performance by Ojudun Taiwo Jacob, in collaboration with Victoria Simone and Illuminatetheatre Productions.
In 2018, Ojudun Taiwo Jacob was selected as an artist resident for the Goethe Institut/Arthouse Foundation residency exchange programme between Lagos and Berlin, titled "Unsustainable Privileges", in partnership with Berlin art institutions Galerie Wedding, ZK/U – Center for Art and Urbanistics and SAVVY Contemporary.
Taiwo works as a performer and choreographer, and he spent three months in Berlin creating a new artistic project that incorporated dance and film. What If? brings his residency project to a Lagos audience. The project is based on a decidingly African perspective of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) and the exploration of their own colonialist mentality.
Film: Viki Simone | Music: Pete Nattrass and Blue Saloon
Performance: Illuminatetheatre Productions
Ojudun Taiwo Jacob is performance artist from Lagos, Nigeria. He lives and works as a performer, curator and choreographer. For six years, he collaborated with the Crown Troupe of Africa in Bariga, Lagos where he received his choreographic and artistic/conceptual training. In 2015, he co-founded Illuminatetheatre Productions, which he serves as Artistic Director. Taiwo's works are primarily performed in public spaces for free access to everyone. He adheres the relationship between the African (Nigerian) tradition and the evolving of the contemporary culture. The blend of both cultures influences his artistic approach. His works are focused on essentialism and existentialism with a strong believe that art evolves from man's daily encounter. They portray socio-political issues of his home country and the global village.
Victoria Simone is a filmmaker and multimedia artist. She has a background in documentary film making with a focus on ecology, sustainability and environmental racism. Recently she has explored the combination of surrealism and documentary film.
IlluminateTheatre Productions is a non-profit and multidisciplinary creative lab based in Lagos, Nigeria, that works in the field of dance, music, drama and performance art.
This exhibition is supported by Goethe Institut, The Treehouse and Arthouse Foundation.