Invernomuto & Jim C.Nedd
PICÓ: Un parlante de Africa en America26 March 2018
London
Screening: 8pm
Talk: 9pm
Starting a new programme exploring different ways in which sound is used in contemporary art practices to materialize narratives of subject construction and address issues related to identity politics, representation and visibility, Almanac presents the recent sonic and post-colonial investigation by Invernomuto and Jim C. Nedd.
The screening of PICÓ: Un parlante de Africa en America, a documentary film by Invernomuto, co-directed by Jim C. Nedd, will be followed by a conversation with Tate Senior curator Andrea Lissoni.
The 60 minutes film looks at the Colombian tradition of Picós, heavily decorated soundsystems that animate street parties of the Costa Atlàntica. Its history can be traced back to the 1960s, yet its roots are to be found deeper, at the time of slavery routes, when coastal cities like Barranquilla and Cartagena played a huge role as points of access in the trade. As a privileged gateway, Colombia’s coast granted access to the technological devices and cultural products - including music from West Africa - that became the basis of Picó culture. The local painters, wood carvers and music selectors who stimulate the tradition are very much aware of its peculiar history and cultural significance: the Picó system carries a tradition of revolt against subjugation and the dispossessed’s struggle. The film gives equal space to this loud and kaleidoscopic environment and to the naturally unfolding narrative of a story yet to be written. This multifaceted tradition, investigated in the video and developed in a recent compilation released by Honest Jon’s Records, will be discussed in a talk with the contribution of Andrea Lissoni.
Simone Bertuzzi (b. 1983) and Simone Trabucchi (b. 1982) have been collaborating as Invernomuto since 2003. Although their work focuses primarily on the moving image and sound, they also integrate sculpture, performance and publishing into their practice. Invernomuto explores what remain of subcultures by moving through different media. Observed through unashamedly affected eyes, oral cultures and minor histories are laid open, their vernacular forms examined. Inauthentic materials play a fundamental role within this process, emphasizing the fictitious realities that inspire them. Bertuzzi and Trabucchi have developed individual lines of research into sound with the outlets Palm Wine and STILL, respectively. www.invernomuto.info
Jim C. Nedd (b. 1991) is an Afro Colombian artist based in Milan. Half of the duo Primitive Art since 2011, they released an EP for Hundebiss Records. In 2013 Nedd founded a club night in Milan called “Progresso” and in 2015 he released the compilation “Conspiracion Progresso” (Halcyon Veil Records). Together with Palm Wine he co-curated the compilation “Guarapo! Forty Bangers from Barranquilla”, published by Honest Jon’s in 2017.
The event at ALMANAC is supported by Arts Council England Grants for the Arts
