In the beginning, there was the primordial ooze. Dark, dense and silent in its potentiality. Then, in a moment of spontaneous generation, the spark of awareness flickered and a sound reverberated out of the void.
A rattle. A hiss. A U M… in the once impenetrable vacuum of silence.
And out of the formless form, a Sentience called out into the Universe and it was heard by all and by no one.
This sound, enshrined, echoing, rippling and vibrating across the tissue of space, set in motion an unfolding, the birthing and the ending of an Aeon.
Billions of years later in the blink of an eye, a ray of light radiated outward and the sound was seen for the first time by its Source. The formless form undulated and expanded, dust, matter and its shadow shook and danced with one another upon the Altar of the Universe to a Cosmic Beat that resonated over all — and all resonated with it.
As matter and energy swirled in vast oceans of nothingness, the Sentience, in forming itself out of the formlessness, what emerged was in dyadic harmony, and the Calabash of Creation contained all in their belly and the Music of the Spheres was the Universe. And as countless times before, the Universe was made and re-made again.
Evan Ifekoya, ‘~ Resonant Frequencies’, 2022, exhibition view, Migros Museum, Zurich; Courtesy: the artist; Photograph: Stefan Altenburger
Evan Ifekoya, Divine Calabash Invocation, Site-Specific Sonic for Little Portland Street
Evan Ifekoya, Omi O, Site-Specific Sonic for the Tent at Little Portland Street’ featuring vocals by MODUPE ensemble: Eden Alero, Ayebainemi Ése, Evan Ifekoya
Alcyoni (Bianca Chu), The Veil/Jaya Yemoja Invocation, Site-Specific Sonic for the Tent at Little Portland Street
Evan Ifekoya is a Spirit led artist and dream architect exploring ancestry, belief and belonging through practices of self-archiving and blackness in abundance. Through their art, they hope to foster a deeper sense of connection and awareness, creating spaces where liberation and refuge are not just ideals but lived experiences. They have presented exhibitions, moving image and performances across UK, Europe and Internationally, most recently: ‘Stranieri Ovunque –Foreigners Everywhere’ 60th Venice Biennial, ‘The Ocean in the Forest’ Wanås Konst Sculpture Park Sweden, ‘Traces of Ecstasy’ ICA VCU Richmond Virginia and Lagos Biennial (2024), ARoS Denmark and Guest Artist Space Lagos (2023), ‘~Resonant Frequencies’, Migros Museum, Zurich (2022). Upcoming exhibitions and presentations in 2025 include ‘Feel The Sound’ at Barbican and ‘MODUPE’, a new experimental documentary film supported by BFI Docs Society. They established the collectively run and QTIBPOC (queer, trans*, intersex, black and people of colour) led Black Obsidian Sound System (B.O.S.S.) in 2018. They were awarded the Paul Hamlyn bursary in 2021, the Kleinwort Hambros Emerging Artists Prize in 2019 and the Arts Foundation Award for Live Art sponsored by the Yoma Sasberg Estate in 2017.