Ima-Abasi Okon

Pamphlet reads as:

Colophon A

A (a)dub¹ of Thelonius Monk's Evidence² played through a reclaimed fixed blade swirl difusser with plenum box,
originally from the Rijksakademie Print Lab, now reconnected to remaining ventilation systems in the building.

Reading Room k102 | Floor 1
10 min 14 sec
________________________
¹ A (a)dub: a slowing down of pre-existing material, namely sound.
² First recorded on 2nd July 1948 for the Wizard of the Vibes sessions, it went by various names,
notably “Justice” and “We Named it Justice.” A contrafact of “Just You, Just Me” by Jesse Greer
and Raymond Klages translated into “Just Us”, then “Justice” and ultimately “Evidence.”

Pamphlet reads as:

Colophon B

A (aaa)dub¹ of Thelonius Monk's Evidence² played through a reclaimed fixed blade swirl difusser with plenum box,
originally from the Rijksakademie Print Lab, now reconnected to remaining ventilation systems in the building.

Metal Workshop W012 | Floor 0
19 min 04 sec
________________________
¹ A (aaa)dub: a slowing-slowing down of pre-existing material, namely sound.
² First recorded on 2nd July 1948 for the Wizard of the Vibes sessions, it went by various names,
notably “Justice” and “We Named it Justice.” A contrafact of “Just You, Just Me” by Jesse Greer
and Raymond Klages translated into “Just Us”, then “Justice” and ultimately “Evidence.”

Laser print on paper, plastic document holders, mahogany polyurethane varnish, oriented strand board (OSB), wenge, cherry, purple heart, zebrano, double passpartout, oak polyurethane varnish, fixed blade swirl diffussers with plenum box, audio, metal workshop, library

Dimensions variable

Rijks Open Studios 2019,
Rijksakademie van beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Photos: G.J. Van Rooj

~S Y N T A X~

1. The exercise takes place across two areas of the Rijkakademie grounds: the Library and the Metal Workshop.

2. Studio 6 contains two notices, each affixed to a wooden frame, narrating the exercise undertaken and pointing to two locations within the building where the exercise unfolds.

3. A fixed blade swirl diffuser with plenum box, reclaimed from the now defunct ventilation system in the Rijksakademie Print Lab, has been reconnected to the ventilaition system in the Library. It plays a (a)dub of Thelonis Monks 'Evidence' (10'14).

4. A fixed blade swirl diffuser with plenum box, reclaimed from the now defunct ventilation system in the Rijksakademie Print Lab, has been reconnected to the ventilaition system in the Metal Workshop. It plays a (aaa)dub of Thelonis Monks 'Evidence' (19'04).

5. The exercise is not named, neither dated. It is not a work, currently.

Capture Mechanism Bypass for Surplus — aChoreographic-Logic-Complex Dub (anticipatory talk back), 2018
Polished brass, tyvek, felt, HD video (13'49) (audio played through the brass vents), 4 channel sound (6'11)(played between screenings), perforated brass, carpet

Dimensions variable

sur— [MIX-USE COMMODITY] —plus,
Kingsgate Project Space, London, UK

INSTALLATION VIEW
Photos: Tim Bowditch

Parables for the BLAZER: Mahalia's EXISTENCEandEXISTENTS-HyPE fragrant stacking balm (306.HAL) Or Radical Hospitality in the a-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-o-r-y, 2018
meranti, OSB, red jacobean polyurethane varnish, garden chairs, HD video, LCD monitor

Dimensions variable

~S Y N T A X~

1. Wooden circular panel ≈ Mahalia Jackson
“It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues”. Oriented strand board (OSB) panel painted with red jacobean varnish and framed with untreated meranti wood. The panel belongs to an ongoing series of similar works that are made by heavily painting a panel of orientated strand board with a polyurethane wood stain, imitating various species of wood and then framed with sections of untreated exotic wood.

2. Plastic garden chairs = congregation
Tied to an active economy of collective ownership, congregational need and favour, the number of stacked garden chairs were adjusted throughout the duration of the exhibition. Sourced from family, the church that artist attends and for free from a catering company these adjustments reflected the need to facilitate gatherings elsewhere. Just as they were given in an act of support they were given back in the same vein when the need arose. These changes came to determine the title of both the show and the work contained within the space. The first title Parables for the Blazer ... indicated the presence of all 77 chairs. The amount required for the top chair to be in prime position to view the monitor. Anything less than this activates the second title Radical Hospitality ... This movement should be read in tandem with all the other components that make up the work. [See 1 and 3].

3. HD Video = Knowledge
Video belongs to a series of sneaker reviews conducted by the artists brother. They occur on the occasion of every new pair purchased.

Plaza Plaza, London, UK
INSTALLATION VIEW

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^, 2018 (pronounced circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex, circumflex)
Downstairs in the Gallery: General Service Agreement (laser printed paper), drawing pins, home-made dishwasher tablets (washing soda, citric acid, washing liquid), polypropylene film, plastic storage box, a stack of bound Means-Tested Opportunity Questionnaires (laser print on paper) (will be unbound upon receiving an invitation for a new opportunity, and one completed for each new opportunity thereafter). Upstairs: Bosch Classixx dishwasher, left open when not in use, a copy of the General Service Agreement

Dimensions variable

The General Service Agreement sets out the terms and conditions under which a newly commissioned body of work by the artist has been executed as a service to make and supply The Showroom with handmade dishwasher tablets. ‘Supply’ is based on the artist’s availability to go to the studio and produce ‘The Service’. Production can only happen outside of the artists ‘waged labour’ and ‘recovery from waged labour’. For the duration of the agreement the artist will be The Showroom’s only supplier. If The Showroom runs out of dishwasher tablets due to the artists unavailability as an Artist, a consequence of waged labour, they have agreed to remedy the shortfall by washing the dishes by hand. The agreement also sets out the value of the labour used to produce the service, quantified by an agreed amount of dishwasher tablets, which the artist will invoice for at the end of each month.

The General Service Agreement, including the Means-Tested Opportunity Questionnaire, and its means of production is available here for artists to use — get intouch via the email below for production details— a binder of successful dishwasher tablet recipes will be forwarded for free

The Service is available for lease only
service@imaokon.co.uk

BUY PUBLICATION HERE

there's something in the conversation that's more interesting than the finality of a (title)
The Showroom, London, UK

INSTALLATION VIEW
Photo credit: Daniel Brooke

[Turn on the lights, I’m lookin’ for ‘er, I’m lookin’, lookin’ for ‘er] & them S-e-l-AH: Future-proof Wanderer’ess in the sea of fog, 2018
Automatic air freshener units, Fragrance: artist’s jewellery, black soap, insulin, Kimberly Clark Joy sachet, kinesiology tape, home-made lychee serum, oxtail, palm oil, scotch bonnet, soursop, ultrasound gel

Timed to dispense every 6 minutes
23.6cm x 10.5cm x 14.3cm ea

there's something in the conversation that's more interesting than the finality of a (title)
The Showroom, London, UK

INSTALLATION VIEW
Photo credit: Daniel Brooke

£35 Wash and Retwist—A Meditation on S-u-r-r-e-p-t-i-t-i-o-u-s Modalities, 2018
[page 81 of a Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James / currently being adapted by Melina Matsoukas for Amazon]
Laserprint, door stopper, Brother Rupert's tambourine

Dimensions variable

PRAISE N PAY IT/ PULL UP, COME INTO THE RISE
South London Gallery, London, UK
contribution to solo show by free.yard, initiated by artist and composer Adam Farah

INSTALLATION VIEW

Put Something in the Air: The E-s-s-e-n-t-i-a-l Mahalia Jackson Blowing Up DJ Pollie Pop's Chopped and Screwed Rendition of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries — Military-Entertainment Complex Dub [Jericho Speak Life!]*(Free of Legacy) *, 2017
Polished brass, acoustic sound underlay, jewellery, OSB, tulip, red mahogany polyurethane varnish

Dimensions variable

Arts Council Collection
Photos: Anna Arca

Put Something in the Air: The E-s-s-e-n-t-i-a-l Mahalia Jackson Blowing Up DJ Pollie Pop's Chopped and Screwed Rendition of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries — Military-Entertainment Complex Dub [Jericho Speak Life!], 2017
Polished brass, acoustic sound underlay, artist's jewellery, OSB, tulip, red mahogany polyurethane varnish

80 x 80 cm, 30 x 200 cm, 30 x 140 cm

UNTITLED: Art on the Conditions of Our Time
New Art Exchange, Nottingham, UK

INSTALLATION VIEW
Photo credit: Bartosz Kali