Choreographing Lagos: Dele Adeyemo on Dance, Cosmology, and Spatial Practices

"Eshu's proverb tells both a story of reparation and of ancestrality by joyfully bending spacetime conventions and accessing subjects from the past with present actions."

"Adeyemo's work brings together ecology, spirituality, dance, and territory, examining how embodied cultural practices can generate alternative spatial possibilities within and against the architecture of racial capitalism."

"He describes dance as a bridge between material and spiritual worlds, connecting the visible and the invisible, and argues that masquerade and other forms of embodied choreography organize space."

"Adeyemo reflects on the ecological pressures generated by urban growth, the contradictions of racial capitalism, and how these dimensions converge in his artistic work."

Eshu's proverb symbolizes the interplay of past and present actions, emphasizing reparation and ancestrality. Dele Adeyemo, a Scottish-Nigerian artist, integrates ecology, spirituality, and dance in his work, challenging racial capitalism's architecture. His research on collective movement practices reveals imaginative spatial intelligences that predate capitalism. Adeyemo views dance as a bridge between material and spiritual realms, addressing urban growth's ecological pressures and the lifeworlds of coastal communities. His long-term engagement with Lagos informs his artistic and pedagogical approaches, highlighting the sophistication in design often overlooked by traditional architects.

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