Nifemi Marcus-Bello will make a big splash at Design Miami 2023 (6 – 10 December), not only with a solo presentation of new work (previewed here) at Marta Los Angeles’ booth, but with a wall sculpture and installation to be situated at the entrance to the fair as well. The latter, which has been made possible by Hublot (Marcus-Bello was awarded the Hublot Design Prize in 2022), brings the designer’s signature approach of interrogating the relationship between Africa and the West into the spotlight for all to see.
Titled ‘Omi Iyo’, meaning ‘salt water’ in Yoruba, Marcus-Bello’s opening sculpture is conceived in response to the journey of undocumented migrants from Africa to Europe. Designed to resemble the hull of a boat, the polished stainless steel work is hollow and filled with salt, a symbol for the Atlantic Ocean, that will stream continuously to the ground out from a small aperture at the sculpture’s base for the fair’s duration. It is through the collection of salt, like the passage of time in an hourglass, that Marcus-Bello requires visitors to acknowledge the continued plight of those who risk their lives for a better future.
‘This is my first time showing in Miami and I have been comfortable with the team and platform from the start,’ says Marcus-Bello. ‘The relationship started with a series of discussions and genuine interactions to talk and educate each other about our work and why each party has to exist. ‘[This discussion] expanded my thoughts around the best way to communicate contextual ideas, as a new audience might not be able to relate to some of the places, ideas, people and thoughts I might speak of.’
He continues, ‘My overall design approach has always been one of context, be it material, place or space, but this year, I wanted to expand a little more in the context of now and current affairs. In this case, the context that caught my attention was drawn to migration, a huge issue that is plaguing West Africa, and globalisation and consumption of the global North and how this is dictating the change in materiality within the continent and my city. I wanted to create work that spoke and sparked dialogue about the now, so objects are not only functional but carry messaging within them.’
Nifemi Marcus-Bello and Marta LA at Design Miami
Inside the fair at Marta’s booth, Marcus-Bello expands on these ruminations further with a body of new work made from sand-cast aluminum. Named ‘Oríkì (Act II): Tales by Moonlight’ after a children’s television programme he watched growing up, Marcus-Bello presents a collection of functional sculptures made in an auto-parts foundry in Lagos. The works (following 'Oríkì (Act I): Friction Ridge' shown at Marta in early 2023) comment on issues surrounding the dynamics of globalisation, production chains and supply-and-demand dynamics, reflecting Marcus-Bello’s interest in the cottage industry that has emerged in West Africa to fabricate the parts needed for the second-cycle cars that arrive in the region from America and Europe. It also raises questions around the life-cycle of materials in global society.
Through working with these autoparts casters, Marcus-Bello pays homage to local craftsmanship, rooted in vernacular modes of fabrication. It is in the exhibition’s title that it all truly comes together.
He explains, ‘Tales by Moonlight was a [TV] show I always looked forward to watching as a kid. My wish for a very long time was wanting to be on the set, hearing the folk stories told by the “Aunties and Uncles” in person. I never had the opportunity to be on the set, but carrying out research in the early stages of this project felt a bit surreal. During the making of the objects in Owode Onirin, we would always gather with the foundry lead and his assistants and ideate around the best way to produce these pieces. There were a lot of failures in the early stages and a lot of learnings, and it created the same feeling I had watching the show as a kid and so I thought it was fitting to title this work, Tales by Moonlight.’
Nifemi Marcus-Bello, ‘Oríkì (Act II): Tales by Moonlight’, 6 – 10 December 2023, Design Miami, marta.la
Design Miami 2023 runs 6 – 10 December, preview day 5 December, designmiami.com
