Larry Achiampong

Larry Achiampong was one of seven artists whose work was included in Diaspra Pavilon | Veice to Wolverhampton, which was described as “a re-staging of a selection of works previously shown in the exhibition Diaspora Pavilion that took place in Venice during the the 57th Venice Biennale last year. The works shown here are by seven of the 19 artists who were part of the Venice show, all of who were selected due to the variety of ways that their practices engage with diaspora as a concept.

The Diaspora Pavilion grew out of a desire to provide a space for artists to pose counter-narratives that interrogate the notion of diaspora and a topical interest in the impact of increased global mobility, displacement and migration on culture. The idea of diaspora here functions as a tool with which to explore how artistic practice has been influenced by cross-cultural exchange.

On the  ground floor Larry Achiampong is screening a short film entitled Sunday’s Best in the Contemporary Gallery. The film addresses the impact that colonial histories have had on religious practices within the African diaspora.” 

Curated by David A. Bailey and Jessica Taylor”

The above text is from the brochure accompanying the exhibition, which took place at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, 10 February - 29 April 2018. 

The Artist biographies section of the brochure had the following entry on Achiampong: 

“Larry Achiampong’s solo and collaborative  projects employ imagery, aural and visual archives, live performance and sound to explore ideas of cross-cultural and post-digital identity - in particular, dichotomies found within a world dominated by social media and digital frameworks. With the enduring expansion and sharing of information via the Internet, the idea of a one-size-fits-all version of history, as previously dictated, continues to be eradicated. At the heart of this phenomenon lies Achiampong’s increased interest in what new truths or versions of history become available, the multiple possibilities that are created and maintained in the digital realm, and the consequences related to ‘IRL’ or ‘In Real Life’. Achiampong crate-digs the vaults of history, splicing audible and visual qualities of the personal and interpersonal archive-as-material - offering multiple dispositions that reveal the socio-political contradictions in contemporary society.”

»  Diaspora Pavilion | Venice to Wolverhampton brochure

Brochure relating to an exhibition, 2018