The exhibition "Une r'Ekpe (Song of the Soil)," curated by Tracian Meikle, features installations, performances, and workshops by Stacey Ravvero. It advocates for cultivating a more mindful relationship with the earth we inhabit.
The soil is critical to the health and conservation of life on the planet as it is home to millions of species of bacteria and fungi that make up the soil microbiome. However, there are many detrimental practices that destroy the soil structure and environment, which have been normalized in society, including covering up soil surface with cobblestones, poor farming practices, excessive weeding, and pollution.
Une r’ Ekpè offers up a poetic intervention and an intersection between art, environmental advocacy and mindfulness practices, centered around gathering.
It invites us to ask:
What if the soil we walk upon has its own spirit? Its own song? Would we walk differently?
The installations are immersive and multi-sensory; holding space for speculation on the subtle ways we are destroying the earth, and what we can offer to heal it and ourselves.
On 3 November 2023, we hosted a planting propagation masterclass.
Participants had the opportunity to co-create an outdoor plant installation at the Goethe-Institut that will grow during the course of the exhibition.
Learning the Ways of the Earth - A Conversation
On 16 November, we hosted a conversation between the artist Stacey Ravvero and her curator Tracian Meikle.
We talked l about the spirit and songs of the soil and will see how we can offer to heal it and ourselves.
Beautiful music was played by Gerald Eze of Ichoku Academy. He performed on the Ubo-Aka, a traditional instrument made out of wood that produces sounds akin to dripping water from stalactites.
credit to photographer of the pictures: D.Oguntade (Damilare Oguntade)
