Babatunde Doherty aka Baba Ali and Teal Griffin presented a series of three performances titled Beach Rhythm at London’s Enclave on February 16, March 16 and 21.
Curated by Lucy Cowling, the project unfolded over three events, moving between traces and layers of oceanic themes. The trilogy is a multimedia installation of spoken word, video, props/sculpture and collaboration where the “threshold between ocean and land” represents an ‘intertidal zone’ to immerse oneself in.
Episode 5: Origins is a blank/a beginning/a birth as well as the first event that moved through topics and myths such as ‘the birth of Aphrodite, the aquatic ape theory [and] the boneless body of the octopus.’ Episode 3: The Wake’ is a ‘frozen moment or ‘an ocean of plastic’ where poetic prose verges on sermon and ambient electronics hover in a sacred space of shrine.
The final event, Episode 7: Carnival, is a “celebration of loss, life, and good times.” The pair invited friends to contribute with live performances, featuring a virtual make-over by Paula Pinho Martins Nacif, a film by Joeseph Bateman, live sound and video by Patrick David Godfrey Furness, poetry by Brother Portrait, a live sound and video ‘harddrive’ performance by Human Pony, a DJ set by Sofia Albina Novikoff Unger and ending with sonic duo SpongeBob No Pants (aka Teal Griffin and Baba Ali).**
