Multimedia performance by Ayo Ngozi at National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, on May 31, 2008. The performance was in conjunction with El Anatsui’s “Gawu” exhibition, featuring Ashley Brockington, Tosha Grantham, Takeyah Young (live human sculpture); Yoko K. (original music and sound design); Basel Action Network (video). Video / edit by Eric Channing (Dissident Display).

“from nothing” is a multimedia performance piece, inspired by and performed with El Anatsui’s exhibition of sculpture, “Gawu.” Conceptualized by a performing artist Ayo Ngozi, it was premiered at the National Museum of African Art at Smithsonian Institution on May 31st, 2008.

The performance is a multimedia experience of the African practice and genius of “making something out of nothing,” while it also criticizes the continued devastation of the African environment – by the West, with the complicity of African enterprise. The performance refers to the ongoing, massive dumping of toxic waste from abroad in Africa as a metaphor of a larger destruction. It also speaks to the possibilities of transformation.

A collaborative score with Japanese composer Yoko K. creates a rich soundscape, incorporating live digital sound captured during the performance, to create an improvisational audio environment that organically grows as the performance unfolds. “from nothing” also includes video images provided by Basel Action Network, the world’s only organization focused on confronting environmental injustice globally and the detrimental economic impact of toxic trade (poison waste products and technologies).

“from nothing” is a conversation about over-consumption and waste – and the redemption found in artistic practice that creates new from old, beauty from detritus, and life where is least expected.

■Smithsonian Museum http://www.si.edu/guides/japanese.htm
■National Museum of African Arthttp://www.nmafa.si.edu/index2.html
■El Anatsui ”Gawu http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/gawu/index.html

Corcoran Gallery of Art (http://www.corcoran.org)

WPA (Washington Project for the Arts) (http://www.wpadc.org)
Image by SHUHEI MATSUYAMA a.k.a MEGASLEEPYHEAD http://www.megasleepyhead.com