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Emeka Ogboh
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Emeka Ogboh
Emeka Ogboh // ⓘ (born May 14, 1977) is a Nigerian sound and installation artist best known for his soundscapes of life in Lagos. Trained as an artist, he began working with sounds that characterize cities following an Egyptian multimedia art program. He presents unmodified field recordings from Lagos city life in gallery installations with headphones and speakers. His non-audio work uses iconography from Lagos city life.
He participated in the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program and 2015 Venice Biennale, and received the 2016 Bremen Böttcherstraße Art Award. His work has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, American National Museum of African Art, Menil Collection, Casino Luxembourg, and Kiasma.
Ogboh was born in Enugu, Nigeria, on May 14, 1977.
He studied graphic design at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and graduated in 2001.
Ogboh is a sound and video artist. He became interested in sound art during a media class at the 2008 Fayoum Winter Academy with Austrian multimedia artist Harald Scherz. Following this experience, Ogboh paid attention to the interaction of sounds in Lagos as compositions rather than individual voices. Ogboh compared the soundscapes to orchestra symphonies, with layered voices rather than strictly chaotic noise. He also appreciated the soundscape's ability to "transport the listener" and found the sound medium most engaging.
Ogboh's sound works have explored the audible expressions that characterize cities, particularly in Lagos, where he lives, works, and was affected by the city's fast pace and unpredictability. He has said that the city's intense, natural soundscapes are jarring for all visitors. OkayAfrica wrote that his work was "rich with sociopolitical commentary". In this way, the power blackout during the Nigerian 2014 FIFA World Cup game was not an angry crowd but an "honest commentary on the government's provision of resources". Ogboh has taken these Lagos recordings to museums around the world since 2008.
He originally recorded Lagos for his use in-studio, but when presented with the idea of sharing the sound for artistic installation, he began to edit the clips for their best representation of Lagos and considered the best method of public dissemination. Home from his Egyptian art program, Ogboh was inspired to create the Lagos Soundscapes project when the artist was able to identify the sounds of his city during a phone call with a friend. As he transitioned to the field, he turned to online help in discussion forums and email. In his installations, Ogboh prefers audio that requires minimal studio manipulation, and does not significantly alter the sounds. Some audio effects come from the recording environment, both surfaces that echo and distort sound, and the effect of traveling with a recorder. His first sound installation was in the Fayoum academy's bathroom, followed by his first Lagos Soundscapes installation at the Lagos African Artists' Foundation in 2009. Ogboh remembered reception mostly around his work's novelty.
The works are typically installed in listening booths with headphones, though they were also installed in the public streets of Cologne and Helsinki as a commentary on globalization. His Lagos by Bus is a recording of Lagos passengers traveling the danfo share taxis and molue minibuses characteristic of the city to work. A vendor offers a prayer before selling medication to riders, as a sociopolitical protest song by Fela Kuti plays on the radio. The 40-minute installation was exhibited at Cologne's Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in 2010, and the booth was painted yellow with black stripes and stickers to imitate the hallmarks of the danfo. An outdoor installation at the Cologne Public Library piped the streets of Lagos to those of Cologne. A similar installation took place at Helsinki's Kiasma contemporary art museum.
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Emeka Ogboh
Emeka Ogboh // ⓘ (born May 14, 1977) is a Nigerian sound and installation artist best known for his soundscapes of life in Lagos. Trained as an artist, he began working with sounds that characterize cities following an Egyptian multimedia art program. He presents unmodified field recordings from Lagos city life in gallery installations with headphones and speakers. His non-audio work uses iconography from Lagos city life.
He participated in the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program and 2015 Venice Biennale, and received the 2016 Bremen Böttcherstraße Art Award. His work has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, American National Museum of African Art, Menil Collection, Casino Luxembourg, and Kiasma.
Ogboh was born in Enugu, Nigeria, on May 14, 1977.
He studied graphic design at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and graduated in 2001.
Ogboh is a sound and video artist. He became interested in sound art during a media class at the 2008 Fayoum Winter Academy with Austrian multimedia artist Harald Scherz. Following this experience, Ogboh paid attention to the interaction of sounds in Lagos as compositions rather than individual voices. Ogboh compared the soundscapes to orchestra symphonies, with layered voices rather than strictly chaotic noise. He also appreciated the soundscape's ability to "transport the listener" and found the sound medium most engaging.
Ogboh's sound works have explored the audible expressions that characterize cities, particularly in Lagos, where he lives, works, and was affected by the city's fast pace and unpredictability. He has said that the city's intense, natural soundscapes are jarring for all visitors. OkayAfrica wrote that his work was "rich with sociopolitical commentary". In this way, the power blackout during the Nigerian 2014 FIFA World Cup game was not an angry crowd but an "honest commentary on the government's provision of resources". Ogboh has taken these Lagos recordings to museums around the world since 2008.
He originally recorded Lagos for his use in-studio, but when presented with the idea of sharing the sound for artistic installation, he began to edit the clips for their best representation of Lagos and considered the best method of public dissemination. Home from his Egyptian art program, Ogboh was inspired to create the Lagos Soundscapes project when the artist was able to identify the sounds of his city during a phone call with a friend. As he transitioned to the field, he turned to online help in discussion forums and email. In his installations, Ogboh prefers audio that requires minimal studio manipulation, and does not significantly alter the sounds. Some audio effects come from the recording environment, both surfaces that echo and distort sound, and the effect of traveling with a recorder. His first sound installation was in the Fayoum academy's bathroom, followed by his first Lagos Soundscapes installation at the Lagos African Artists' Foundation in 2009. Ogboh remembered reception mostly around his work's novelty.
The works are typically installed in listening booths with headphones, though they were also installed in the public streets of Cologne and Helsinki as a commentary on globalization. His Lagos by Bus is a recording of Lagos passengers traveling the danfo share taxis and molue minibuses characteristic of the city to work. A vendor offers a prayer before selling medication to riders, as a sociopolitical protest song by Fela Kuti plays on the radio. The 40-minute installation was exhibited at Cologne's Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in 2010, and the booth was painted yellow with black stripes and stickers to imitate the hallmarks of the danfo. An outdoor installation at the Cologne Public Library piped the streets of Lagos to those of Cologne. A similar installation took place at Helsinki's Kiasma contemporary art museum.