THE BASS MUSEUM OF ART 2100 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33139 www.thebass.org JOHNTHE AKOMFRAH: Purple MAY BASS 6 – AUG 23, 2020 Presented in dialogue with selections from the collection and recent acquisitions, Akomfrah’s monumental video installation, Purple, is dedicated to exploring the effects of climate change as a central concept. Commissioned by a consortium of five international museums, including ICA Boston, Purple is a six-channel video installation that digitally sequences hundreds of hours of both archival and newly produced videos and images to create an honest meditation on the effects of climate change, exploring the complex relationship between humans and the environment they inhabit. Projected onto six monumental screens and occupying the entire Muss gallery, the largest gallery at The Bass, these images will be installed with an immersive five-movement symphonic sound score and enveloped entirely, floor to ceiling, in the color purple- a hue that combines the coldness of blue and the warmth of red and symbolizes the complexity of every living being. Purple is also the traditional color of mourning in Ghana, a reference to Akomfrah’s home. Filmed in 10 countries, Akomfrah digitally fuses vignettes of stunning yet decaying landscapes, such as the Greenland ice sheets and the coastal communities of the Marquesas Islands, with the life cycle and consumption patterns of humans. Epic in scope, his work traces the development of the modern world, from early industrialization to the digital age, and places these images with images of humans and their ephemeral comforts and casual consumption. In sections, Akomfrah references the sublime school of painting, which showed humans surrounded by earth's wonders, shrunk by scale and filled with awe. Akomfrah reverses this concept, showing the humans as a silent menace to these landscapes - their mere existence is an active threat to the beauty they observe. Purple does not lecture. Instead, it is a quiet acknowledgement of climate change. Akomfrah creates a space where the viewer cannot extricate themselves from what they are witnessing and must understand their role in the changes to our planet. The score combines earthly sounds such as thunderclaps and ocean waves with deeply spiritual human hymns. The sound comes at the viewer in waves, transforming the static theory of climate change into a tangible physical sensation. The works of John Akomfrah (b.1957, Accra, Ghana) are characterized by their investigations into memory, post- colonialism, temporality and aesthetics and often explore the experiences of migrant diasporas globally. Akomfrah was a founding member of the influential Black Audio Film Collective, which started in London in 1982 alongside the artists David Lawson and Lina Gopaul, who he still collaborates with today. Akomfrah lives and works in London. He has had numerous solo exhibitions including New Art Exchange, Nottingham, UK (2019); BALTIC, Gateshead, UK (2019); ICA Boston, MA, USA (2019); Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon, Portugal (2018); Imperial War Museum, London, UK (2018); New Museum, New York, NY, USA (2018); Bildmuseet, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden (2015, 2018); Nasher Museum at Duke University, Durham, DC, USA (2018); SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA, USA (2018); Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (2018); Barbican, London, UK (2017); Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK (2017); Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK (2016); Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen, Denmark (2016); THE BASS 2 SPRING 2020 EXHIBITIONS STUK Kunstcentrum, Leuven, Belgium (2016); Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan, USA (2014); Tate Britain, London, UK (2013-14) and a week-long series of screenings at MoMA, New York, USA (2011). He has participated in international group shows throughout the world and has also been featured in many international film festivals, including Sundance Film Festival, Utah, USA (2013 and 2011) and Toronto International Film Festival, Canada (2012). He was awarded the Artes Mundi Prize in 2017. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS John Akomfrah: Purple is organized by The Bass. Purple was commissioned by the Barbican, London; Bildmuseet, Sweden; TBA21; ICA, Boston; Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow; and Museu Colecao Bernardo, Lisbon. The Bass is funded by the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program and Cultural Arts Council, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, and The Bass membership. ABOUT THE BASS The Bass is Miami Beach’s contemporary art museum. Founded in 1964 by the City of Miami Beach, the museum was established after the donation of a private collection by residents John and Johanna Bass and opened in what was formerly the Miami Beach Public Library and Art Center, a 1930s Art Deco building designed by Russell Pancoast. Recognized for organizing the first solo museum exhibitions in the United States of international artists such as Erwin Wurm, The Bass has also presented major exhibitions by influential artists including El Anatsui, Isaac Julien, Eve Sussman and Piotr Uklański. The exhibition program encompasses a wide range of media and artistic points of view, bringing fresh perspectives to the diverse cultural context of Miami Beach. The Bass is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. For more information, please visit www.thebass.org, or follow The Bass on social media at www.facebook.com/TheBassMoA or Twitter and Instagram via @TheBassMoA. CURRENT & UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE BASS HAEGUE YANG: In the Cone of Uncertainty November 2, 2019 – April 5, 2020 LARA FAVARETTO: Blind Spot December 1, 2019 – April 19, 2020 MICKALENE THOMAS: Better Nights December 1, 2019 – September 27, 2020 JOHN AKOMFRAH: Purple May 6 – August 23, 2020 SELECTIONS FROM THE COLLECTION May 6 – August 23, 2020 RAFAEL DOMENECH & ERNESTO OROZA: Hialeah Eléctrica – Metavector May 21 – August 23, 2020 MEDIA CONTACTS For U.S. and international inquiries: For local and Florida media inquiries: Elizabeth Stewart Julia Rudo SUTTON Communications Manager, The Bass [email protected] [email protected] +1 212 202 3402 + 1 786 477 6009 For a complete selection of high-res imagery and to access a full press kit, please visit www.thebass.org/presskit. THE BASS 3 SPRING 2020 EXHIBITIONS [Images: John Akomfrah, Purple, 2017. 6 channel HD colour video installation with 15.1 surround sound. Dimensions variable, Duration: 62 minutes. © Smoking Dog Films; Courtesy Lisson Gallery.] .