I Put a Spell on You

Akinsola Lawanson

Bosode, 2021. Film

Akinsola Lawanson is a British-Nigerian artist working with moving image, video game engines and motorised sculptures. Their practice examines relational systems, colonialism, digital technologies and process philosophy.

‘Bosode’opens up new worlds which critique the legacy of colonialism by taking us on a journey into the Yoruba spirit world. Taking inspiration from Nollywood, Ifá religion and Sci-Fi, we travel with Bosode, who picks up a shell in the local market and is sent on a quest. Now able to move between our world and the spirit world, Bosode consults with Orunmila, god of wisdom, and Eshu the trickster god, as she decides which path to take on her journey. The film refuses the binary of Christianity’s good vs evil, and Bosode has three alternative routes to choose from, reminding us of the agency we have when we take up the choices on offer to us.

Recent exhibitions include Bloomberg New Contemporaries, South London Gallery, London 2022); Schemes and Schemas, hARTslane, London (2022); Celestial Gestures, U10 Gallery, Belgrade, Serbia (2022); Ghost Show, hARTslane, London (2021) and Move Festival, Pompidou Centre, Paris, France (2020).

www.akinsola.net/