BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Hirshhorn Museum -- Exhibit: John Akomfrah: Purple

DC -- Hirshhorn Museum -- Exhibit: John Akomfrah: Purple:

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Description of Pictures: John Akomfrah: Purple
Nov 23, 2022–January 2024
"John Akomfrah: Purple" introduces the artist’s largest ever video installation, an immersive six-channel work, to Washington D.C. for the first time.
An enveloping, hour-long symphony of image and sound, “Purple” (2017) weaves together original film with archival footage against a hypnotic score to address themes related to climate change. Surveying a variety of disappearing landscapes, including parts of Alaska, Greenland, the Tahitian Peninsula and the South Pacific’s volcanic Marquesas Islands, Akomfrah conveys the interconnected relationship between the built and natural worlds in the Anthropocene. His striking images of these vulnerable environments mingle with historical recordings of coal mines, polluted lakes and factory labor, set against a resonant soundtrack of original music, archival recordings and spoken word. These elements come together to form a moving meditation on the impact of human progress on the Earth.
Akomfrah is a London-based artist and filmmaker whose works are characterized by their investigations into memory, post-colonialism, temporality, and aesthetics. His works often explore the experiences of migrant diasporas globally.
“Purple” plays across six large screens arranged in an arc, perfectly mirroring the Hirshhorn’s curved architecture. Carpet in a deep shade of purple—the color of mourning in Ghana, Akomfrah’s country of origin—blankets the floors and walls of the exhibition space, lending an inviting if somber mood and reminding viewers of the losses brought about by environmental devastation.
Purple was co-acquired by the Hirshhorn and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston in 2021. “John Akomfrah: Purple” is curated by Marina Isgro, associate curator of media and performance art who guided the acquisition of this time-based work.
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About the ARTIST
Pioneering artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah R.A. (b. 1957) is a founding member of the influential Black Audio Film Collective (1982–1998) and its offshoot, the film and television production company Smoking Dogs Films (1998–present). Akomfrah lives and works in London. His work has been shown in museums and exhibitions around the world including The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The New Museum, New York; Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Serpentine Gallery, London; Tate Britain, London; Southbank Centre, London; Bildmuseet Umeå, Sweden; and the 56th Venice Biennale.

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[1] PURPLE_221124_01.JPG	[2] PURPLE_221124_06.JPG	[3] PURPLE_221124_10.JPG
[4] PURPLE_221124_14.JPG	[5] PURPLE_221124_18.JPG	[6] PURPLE_221124_22.JPG
[7] PURPLE_221124_32.JPG	[8] PURPLE_221124_41.JPG	[9] PURPLE_221124_52.JPG
[10] PURPLE_221124_57.JPG	[11] PURPLE_221124_61.JPG	[12] PURPLE_221124_66.JPG
[13] PURPLE_221124_68.JPG	[14] PURPLE_221124_70.JPG	[15] PURPLE_221124_71.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. PURPLE_221124_01.JPG: John Akomfrah: Purple
2. PURPLE_221124_10.JPG: One of Britain’s leading filmmakers, John Akomfrah RA (b. 1957) deftly weaves historical and original footage into evocative video works. Purple (2017), his largest installation to date, paints a riveting portrait of our planet in the era of climate change. Across six screens, Akomfrah tells the story of the Anthropocene, the present geological age, in which humans have massively reshaped the environment. The artist shot footage in Alaska, French Polynesia, Greenland, and other ecologically fragile locations, capturing anonymous figures posed in striking landscapes. He intercut these meditative scenes with archival images of oil rigs, coal mines, and polluted lakes as well as factory labor, political movements, and human birth and death. The video’s nonlinear structure and resonant soundtrack—which blends historical recordings, original music, and spoken word—evoke the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world. Akomfrah, who is of Ghanaian heritage, chose to blanket the galleries in purple, a color of mourning in Ghana. The deep hue lends the exhibition a somber mood and reminds us of the losses wrought by global warming. At the gallery entrance, hundreds of plastic bottles loom overhead in an organic formation that conjures, in Akomfrah’s words, a “toxic cloud.” The bottles were reused from a previous installation at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Carbon emissions for this exhibition have been calculated and balanced by an anonymous donation to strategic climate funds. Programming throughout the run of the show will address ecological concerns in the Washington, DC, region. For more information, see hirshhorn.si.edu/akomfrah. Curated by Marina Isgro, Associate Curator of Media and Performance Art John Akomfrah: Purple has been made possible with generous support from Mr. and Mrs. David G. Johnson. Additional funding has been provided by the Hirshhorn International Council and Hirshhorn Collectors’ Council. Purple was commissioned by the Barbican, London, and co-commissioned by Bildmuseet Umeå, Sweden; TBA21—Academy; the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston; Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon; and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow.
3. PURPLE_221124_14.JPG: About the Hirshhorn Collection Founded in 1966 with a landmark gift of art from Joseph H. Hirshhorn, the Museum’s collection has expanded significantly from its original focus on paintings and sculptures to include time-based media works in film, video, installation, and performance. The Hirshhorn made an early commitment to exhibiting and collecting time-based media—and it has become a hallmark of the Museum’s partnership with living artists. In 2005, the Hirshhorn inaugurated Black Box, a space dedicated to moving-image artwork, and the Museum also has organized major exhibitions dedicated to time-based media, including Doug Aitken’s SONG 1 (2012), a 360-degree projection wrapping the entirety of the Hirshhorn’s exterior façade. In addition, the Museum has partnered with colleagues at the Smithsonian and beyond to develop best practices in the preservation of time-based media. John Akomfrah’s Purple was recently acquired by the Hirshhorn in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. About the Artist John Akomfrah RA is a London-based artist and filmmaker who is recognized internationally for his expansive and groundbreaking practice, which often juxtaposes disparate images, nonlinear narratives, and multiple viewpoints to highlight both the disjointed nature of existence and the unexpected connections found within it. He was a founding member of the Black Audio Film Collective (1982–1998), an influential experimental group whose work examined diasporic African experiences. In 1997, Akomfrah, along with David Lawson and Lina Gopaul, established Smoking Dogs Films, which focuses on sharing narratives of marginalized communities with audiences across multiple platforms. Akomfrah’s work has been exhibited in one-artist and group exhibitions and film festivals around the world.
4. PURPLE_221124_41.JPG: John Akomfrah RA (b. 1957) Purple 2017 Six-channel video installation; color; sound; 62 min. Collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, with funds provided by the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Purchase Fund, 2021; and Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, with funds provided through the generosity of the Acquisitions Circle and Erica Gervais Pappendick and Ted Pappendick, 2021 (2021.013). © Smoking Dogs Films. Courtesy of Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery
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