They provide power, but are they really a blessing? Power ships can be found off the coasts of several large West African cities. They represent a quick source of energy, but high operating costs go hand in hand with high electricity costs. The floating power plants may be useful in the short term, but it is becoming apparent that their use means that a sustainable energy infrastructure that needs to be built in parallel is being neglected. The British-Nigerian artist now addresses this phenomenon in an unusual series of works: layt de kam combines film and textile art to explore the ambivalent relationship with power ships and temporary energy infrastructures in general. These systems, characterized by privatization and deregulation, often reinforce global dependencies rather than promoting self-sufficiency. At the heart of her new work is the film GLOW, a speculative children's story about a strange visitor who brings light with him. The exhibition Ibiye Camp: Layt de kam is on view at the Bonington Gallery, located at Nottingham Trent University's School of Art & Design. It runs from January 17 to March 7.
On Wednesday, January 21, Ibiye Camp will be on site for an artist talk starting at 6 p.m.
Camp, who lives in London, studied architecture and explores postcolonialism, technology, and the built environment in her multidisciplinary artistic work. She often uses architectural tools to create sound, video, textiles, augmented reality, and 3D objects, with a focus on the African diaspora. Her graduation project, Data: the New Black Gold (2019), attracted international attention and was nominated for the RIBA President's Medals Students Award, among others.
