Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art
Two page spread of digital publication showing a title page with the text 'Hushed'. 'On indigo and other things that moved'. 'Ndidi dike, Raisa Kabir, Lucille Junkere & Joyce Woodcock''
Screenshot of a two page spread of a digital publication. One page shows a photograph of the sea overlaid with four smaller photographs of leaves. The other page shows blue text on a white background
Screenshot of a two page spread of a digital publication. One page shows a photograph of three sand, navy and burnt sienna nets on the end of flat ground that meets lush verdant trees and shrubs

GI Online

Between 2019 and 2020, Ndidi Dike developed a new body of research towards the artist’s first presentation in Scotland. Titled Hushed, this exhibition was to focus on a site-specific installation and the artist’s presence in Scotland was imperative to the creation of the work.

Instead, as a response to the pandemic, a publication of the same name contextualises Dike’s research into the colonial cloth trade, paying particular attention to plants that have been used as sources of the blue dye indigo, in conjunction with interlinking research by various other artists. Hushed included images from Dike’s research, a conversation with curator Natalia Palombo, an interview with Joyce Woodcock, and commissioned texts from Raisa Kabir and Lucille Junkere.

Dike’s practice often examines global histories, including the pre- and post-colonial legacies of slavery, forced migration, resource extraction and the political dimensions of commodity cultures. While referring to the local context of Glasgow and the accountability of Scotland’s own history, Hushed was rooted in the impact of colonialism in ex-colonies, such as Nigeria, but also more broadly across West Africa and the Caribbean.

Curated by Natalia Palombo

Supported by Glasgow International

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