Temitayo Ogunbiyi’s Political Pantry

Lagos-based artist Temitayo Ogunbiyi often includes the expression ‘You will’ in the titles of her works and exhibitions. Borrowed from colloquial interactions in Nigeria, the phrase – as the artist explains in a statement on her website – is a form of prayer that, at times, serves as a promise of what is to come and, at others, as a plea for it. The title of Ogunbiyi’s first exhibition in Switzerland, ‘You will follow the Rhein and compose play’ – currently on view at Museum Tinguely in Basel – continues this naming tradition while also referencing the river on whose banks the institution is located.

Inaugurated in May in the park next to the museum, You will follow the Rhein and compose play (playground) (2023) functions as the first component of this two-part show. The site-specific work is a play structure consisting of seven metal arches, some of which form semicircles, while others have the organic appearance of curved mangrove roots – an impression enhanced by the natural fibres of the manila rope wrapped around each. Although the piece is intended to be played on, the lines drawn by the metal structures in fact refer to the trade and travel routes linking Lagos to Basel, as well as to Nigerian hairstyles, which have historically conveyed age, class and social status. Unfortunately, this context is not indicated on any signage within the park, meaning viewers have to wait until they enter the museum to learn about the work’s conceptual framework.

The second part of the exhibition unfolds across four successive gallery spaces at Museum Tinguely. Conceived as an overview of Ogunbiyi’s artistic practice over the past seven years, this section includes details of plant parts and fruits captured in paintings and drawings, such as You will find a spirit within all that is living (2019), as well as a playful installation You will find new framing in crafts of old (2023). The latter incorporates elegant, second-hand furniture – which will be resold after the show closes to reduce its environmental impact – the drawers and doors of which are embedded with works on paper depicting edible plants found in local supermarkets. As with the playground, visitors are encouraged to interact with the piece to discover these hidden drawings for themselves.

Locally sold produce is also the topic of Healing Verb (2023), an intervention in the gallery spaces and the museum shop, in which items such as dried mango and ginger – common in Basel’s small, immigrant-run supermarkets selling non-Western food – are available for sale as snacks. Presented in one of the drawers and on a postcard in the shop, Ogunbiyi also includes a ‘welcome recipe card’ for cheese fondue, a typical Swiss dish, which has been enhanced with Nigerian ingredients in an echo of how every culture grows and evolves through immigration.

The themes of food, eating and cooking continue in the room-sized installation You will follow the Rhein and compose play (instrument) (2023), which comprises a musical instrument – played during guided tours – made from bent brass rods and an assortment of kitchen utensils sourced in Basel. Formally, the piece resembles the curved bars of the outdoor play sculpture; conceptually, it highlights the importance of music and food as carriers of cultural identity. Manifesting the incantation of its title, ‘You will follow the Rhein and compose play’ sees Ogunbiyi effortlessly guide the viewer through the politics of her practice with an injection of levity and fun.

Temitayo Ogunbiyi’s ‘You will follow the Rhein and compose play’ is on view at Museum Tinguely, Basel, until 14 January

_{Main image: Temitayo Ogunbiyi, You will follow the Rhein and compose play (playground), 2023, installation view. courtesy: the artist; photograph: Matthias Willi}