Workshop "Contained Measures of Shifting States" by Otobong Nkanga

L’Académie vivante (Living Academy), a new co-directed exper­i­mental research space run by The Epigenetics and Cell Fate Unit (CNRS / Université Paris Diderot) and Bétonsalon - Center for Art and Research, is orga­nizing a three day work­shop around the art­work Contained Measures of Shifting States by Otobong Nkanga pre­sented at the Centre Pompidou in Paris from the April 11 to June 13, 2016.
Directed by Otobong Nkanga, the work­shop took the form of an inten­sive mul­ti­dis­ci­plinary pro­gram of inves­ti­ga­tions and exchanges between artists and researches from var­ious the­o­ret­ical hori­zons. 

The work­shop, open to all pro­files, was a priv­i­leged moment to share and create nar­ra­tives and forms sur­rounding the images com­prised in the art­work Contained Measures of Shifting States (2012). Created as a result of an invi­ta­tion by The Tanks (Tate Modern, London), the art­work con­sists of an instal­la­tion of three tables that pre­sent images exploring notions of tran­sient states and metabolism – in the fields of geology, art, polit­ical science and genetics.

The objec­tive was to offer throughout the three days, in the pres­ence of the artist, dif­ferent for­mats of exchange (external inter­ven­tions, field trips, round tables, spec­u­la­tive acti­va­tions of images etc.) to channel and col­lec­tively create a dis­course that can be shared with vis­i­tors the Centre Pompidou.

The par­tic­i­pants have the oppor­tu­nity fol­lowing the work­shop to take part in the acti­va­tion of the work, which will be pre­sented for the first time in France, on the occa­sion of  Museum ON/OFF at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, from April 11 to June 13, 2016.

Bétonsalon sought to bring together a small group of young artists and researchers who are curious to work on dis­cur­sive, sci­en­tific spec­u­la­tion and con­cepts of trans­for­ma­tion, metabolism, tran­sient states, either in phi­los­ophy, geology, genetics, art and other dis­ci­plines.

Download the work­shop pro­gram (in French)
More infor­ma­tion on Otobong Nkanga and Shifting States

Read the con­tri­bu­tion of Otobong Nkanga in the second issue of Qalqalah
More infor­ma­tion on Qalqalah

Offsite extension

Activation of the art­work Contained Measures of Shifting States by Otobong Nkanga
Under the frame­work of Museum ON/OFF at the Centre Pompidou (Galerie 0)
From April 11 to June 13, 2016.

Otobong Nkanga, Contained Measures of Shifting States, 2012, installation in The Tanks (Tate Modern, London). Image: Tate Photography/ Gabrielle Johnson

The par­tic­i­pants of the work­shop con­tinue the dia­logue ini­ti­ated by acti­vating the art­work Contained Measures of Shifting States in the exhi­bi­tion Museum ON/OFF (Centre Pompidou)

Thursday and Friday from 6 to 8 pm and Saturday from 11am to 3pm.
With : Sarah Bendaoud, Tiphaine Calmettes, Thelma Cappello, Elina Chared, Caroline Delhom, Mally Diallo, Arthur Dokhan, Rony Efrat, Suzannah Henty, Céline Pelcé, Céline Perier, Julie Perot, Marisol Rodriguez, Tanya Sauli, Caroline Sebilleau, Nadine Wanono Gauthier, Jonathan Weitzman, You Xilun, Floriane Zapata.

More infor­ma­tion on the exhi­bi­tion Museum ON/OFF

Workshop "Contained Measures of Shifting States" by Otobong Nkanga, Lucas Semeraro participating in the intervention by Otobong Nkanga, April 7 2016, Bétonsalon - Center for Art and Research, Paris.

Workshop "Contained Measures of Shifting States" by Otobong Nkanga, workshop on the different states of glass with Guillaume Thoraval, Wednesday April 6, 2016, Bétonsalon - Center for Art and Research, Paris

Workshop "Contained Measures of Shifting States" by Otobong Nkanga, description and interpretation of images with Céline Chicoineau, Thursday April 7 2016, Bétonsalon - Center for Art and Research, Paris.

Workshop "Contained Measures of Shifting States" by Otobong Nkanga, description and interpretation of images with Céline Chincoineau, Thursday April 7, 2016, Bétonsalon - Center for Art and Research, Paris

Workshop "Contained Measures of Shifting States" by Otobong Nkanga, workshop on the transformation of metal with Samuel Landré, Friday April 8, 2016, Bétonsalon - Center for Art and Research, Paris

Workshop "Contained Measures of Shifting States" by Otobong Nkanga, visit of Galerie 0 installation with curator Alicia Knock, Friday April 8, 2016, Bétonsalon - Center for Art and Research, Paris

Workshop "Contained Measures of Shifting States" by Otobong Nkanga, the materialisation of the image with Céline Chicoineau, Thursday April 7, 2016, Bétonsalon - Center for Art and Research, Paris.

Otobong Nkanga Workshop at Béton­salon from Béton­salon on Vimeo.

Céline Chicoineau and Otobong Nkanga Workshop for Académie vivante from Béton­salon on Vimeo.