Precious Okoyomon: Pre-Sky/Emit Light: Yes Like That

Precious Okoyomon is a poet and artist. Their work considers the natural world, histories of migration and racialization, and the pure pleasures of everyday life. For the Nigeria Pavilion, Okoyomon offers a radio tower as an instrument, designed to capture and transmit atmospheric conditions as sound. This innovative creation also serves as a platform for the confessions of chosen Nigerians, including poets, artists, and writers, adding depth and resonance to the broadcast messages.

Taken over by fast-growing weeds, this installation serves as both a radio tower and a monument to collective cultural thinking. Precious Okoyomon's work immerses us in a dreamlike state, blending reality with fantasy. The tower functions as a musical instrument, transforming atmospheric changes into sound, and broadcasts the voices of Nigerian poets, artists, and writers interviewed during a research trip to Lagos in January. This infusion of the Nigerian Imaginary into the city becomes diasporic, impacting its surroundings with confidence and yearning. Okoyomon frequently creates large-scale, land-based art installations. At the 2022 Venice Biennale, their work in the Central Pavilion included soil sculptures and free-roaming butterflies, spanning over 50 meters.

PRECIOUS OKOYOMON

Born in 1993, London, United Kingdom
Lives and works in New York, United States