id: 343588 accession number: 2019.34 share license status: Copyrighted url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2019.34 updated: 2022-09-10 12:09:44.490000 Ties That Bind, 2019. Emeka Ogboh (Nigerian, b. 1977). Multichannel electronic sound composition; 21 minutes, 56 seconds; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Sundry Art - Miscellaneous Fund 2019.34 © Emeka Ogboh title: Ties That Bind title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 2019 creation date earliest: 2019 creation date latest: 2019 current location: creditline: Sundry Art - Miscellaneous Fund copyright: © Emeka Ogboh --- culture: Nigeria technique: Multichannel electronic sound composition; 21 minutes, 56 seconds department: African Art collection: African Art type: Time-based Media find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Emeka Ogboh (Nigerian, b. 1977) - artist --- measurements: state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * No exhibition history. --- PROVENANCE Emeka Ogboh, Enugu, NG, 2019, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: 2019 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 2019– footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: It is the first time a museum’s collection has directly inspired the artist’s work. digital description: Ties That Bind is an electronic composition designed to create ambient sounds for the CMA’s African art collection. It comprises digitally manipulated soundscapes of flowing water, water waves, a creaking boat, the strumming of mbira (thumb piano), staccato bass, tone, and slap of the djembe (conja drum), electronic drum, ichaka (rattle), voice chants, and spoken word. The multisensory work creates a soothing ambience, re-energizing the otherwise sedentary historical objects by adding an animated contemporary feel to the African gallery. wall description: Emeka Ogboh’s sound installation, Ties That Bind, is inspired by the museum’s African art collection. Its soundscapes include flowing water, waves, a creaking boat, the mbira (thumb piano), the djembe (conja drum), electronic drum, ichaka (rattle), voice chants, and spoken word. Uniting the composition is the consistent strumming of the mbira—an instrument found in several African cultures of East, West, Central, and Southern Africa and used in civic, ritual, and ceremonial contexts.

This audio work creates an ambient atmosphere that animates the otherwise sedentary historical objects in this gallery. Rich in symbolism and history, the work revisits the story of the so-called Bantu dispersal: first, from the southern tip of West Africa through the Congo forest region and toward East Africa, and a second southern migration through present-day Gabon and Angola, from around 1000 BC to 1500. This narrative of movement and migration is a touchstone in Ogboh’s artistic practice. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Martin, Michel. “Symphony Of The City: Nigerian Artist Draws Songs From The Bustling Market.” NPR. January 31, 2016. https://www.npr.org/2016/01/31/464883428/symphony-of-the-city-nigerian-artist-draws-songs-from-the-bustling-market. page number: url: https://www.npr.org/2016/01/31/464883428/symphony-of-the-city-nigerian-artist-draws-songs-from-the-bustling-market Nodjimbadem, Katie. “Step Into a Noisy, Chaotic Nigerian Marketplace at The African Art Museum: West African artist Emeka Ogboh’s installation will be the first time the museum has featured a work of sound art.” Smithsonian Magazine. February 11, 2016. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/sounds-lagos-nigeria-come-washington-dc-new-exhibit-african-art-museum-180958026/. page number: url: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/sounds-lagos-nigeria-come-washington-dc-new-exhibit-african-art-museum-180958026/ Ndikung, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng. “Emeka Ogboh.” documenta 14. https://www.documenta14.de/en/artists/11086/emeka-ogboh. page number: url: https://www.documenta14.de/en/artists/11086/emeka-ogboh. Russeth, Andrew. “Heady Brews: In Münster, Emeka Ogboh Honors Moondog With a Vast Soundscape, Honey Beer.” Artnews. June 12, 2017. http://www.artnews.com/2017/06/12/heady-brews-in-munster-emeka-ogboh-honors-moondog-with-a-vast-soundscape-honey-beer/. page number: url: http://www.artnews.com/2017/06/12/heady-brews-in-munster-emeka-ogboh-honors-moondog-with-a-vast-soundscape-honey-beer/ Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden. “Emeka Ogboh - If Found Please Return to Lagos: 11. 11. 2017 – 4. 02. 2018.” art-in.de. November 9, 2017. https://www.art-in.de/ausstellung.php?id=5779. page number: url: https://www.art-in.de/ausstellung.php?id=5779 Dex, Robert. “New Tate Modern installation inspired by Bob Marley and Greek crisis.” Evening Standard Arts. December 18, 2017. https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/new-tate-modern-installation-inspired-by-bob-marley-and-greek-crisis-a3721821.html. page number: url: https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/new-tate-modern-installation-inspired-by-bob-marley-and-greek-crisis-a3721821.html EFE London. “Las experiencias ‘inmersivas’ de Emeka Ogboh y Amar Kanwar llegan a la Tate.” EFE. December 18, 2017. https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/cultura/las-experiencias-inmersivas-de-emeka-ogboh-y-amar-kanwar-llegan-a-la-tate/10005-3470919. page number: url: https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/cultura/las-experiencias-inmersivas-de-emeka-ogboh-y-amar-kanwar-llegan-a-la-tate/10005-3470919 “Tate gets Emeka Ogboh’s stock market-data piece (thanks to Modern Forms).” The Art Newspaper. December, 20, 2017. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/blog/tate-gets-emeka-ogboh-s-stock-market-data-piece-thanks-to-modern-forms. page number: url: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/blog/tate-gets-emeka-ogboh-s-stock-market-data-piece-thanks-to-modern-forms Read, Bridget. “At the Tate Modern, Optimism Grows Underground.” Vogue UK. January 12, 2018. https://www.vogue.com/article/tate-modern-emeka-ogboh-amar-kanwar-the-tanks?verso=true. page number: url: https://www.vogue.com/article/tate-modern-emeka-ogboh-amar-kanwar-the-tanks?verso=true Miller, Megan. “‘Social sound sculpture’: Museum Ludwig acquires sonic project by Nigerian artist Emeka Ogboh.” Art Radar Journal. April 21, 2018. http://artradarjournal.com/2018/04/21/social-sound-sculpture-museum-ludwig-acquires-sonic-project-by-nigerian-artist-emeka-ogboh/. page number: url: http://artradarjournal.com/2018/04/21/social-sound-sculpture-museum-ludwig-acquires-sonic-project-by-nigerian-artist-emeka-ogboh/ Mural Arts Philadelphia. “Emeka Ogboh featuring Ursula Rucker: Logan Squared, Sundays through November 19.” Mural Arts Philadelphia. https://www.muralarts.org/events/emeka-ogboh-logan-squared-sundays-november-19-5/. page number: url: https://www.muralarts.org/events/emeka-ogboh-logan-squared-sundays-november-19-5/ Brown, Kate. “How Artist Emeka Ogboh Became One of Europe’s Fastest-Rising Stars – Without a Gallery, a Dealer, or Even Self-Promotion.” Artnet New. November 2, 2018. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/emekah-ogboh-hkw-1385746. page number: url: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/emekah-ogboh-hkw-1385746 Nzewi, Ugochukwu-Smooth, Karen Milbourne, Domenick Ammirati, and Emeka Ogboh. Emeka Ogboh: Lagos Soundscapes. Berlin: Kerber Publishers, 2019. page number: url: Liebert, Emily, Emeka Ogboh, Ugochukwu-Smooth C Nzewi, Meki Nzewi, Meki Nzewi, and Cleveland Museum of Art. Ámà : The Gathering Place : Emeka Ogboh. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019. page number: url: https://ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1126569935 --- IMAGES