Spike Island presents Quantum Ghost, a major new commission by Bristol-based artist and Spike Island studio holder Libita Sibungu. Comprising an immersive sound installation, a series of large-scale photograms and a programme of live performances, Quantum Ghost maps a journey through archives and territories related to the artist’s heritage.
Digging deep into personal documents and oral histories, the exhibition unearths the subterranean histories and political undercurrents connecting the mining regions of Namibia and Cornwall. From mined ores and sedimentary rocks to precious metals and rare earths, it examines the raw materials at the core of capitalist extraction, revealing how the echoes of colonialism and diasporic migration reverberate through the deep-time of geology.
Libita Sibungu
Libita Sibungu is a British-Namibian artist who works across sound and performance. She also organises workshops and discursive events developed in partnership with DIY organisations, broadcasters and publishers. Recent exhibitions and performances include: Quantum Ghost, Gasworks, London (2019); 4717, RCA/LUX, Dyson Gallery, Royal College of Art, London; Memento Mori, Kalashnikovv 3.0, Johannesburg (all 2018); DEBUNK, Arnolfini, Bristol; History Lessons: Fluid Records, South London Gallery/Iniva, London; Going Along Without a Body, Iklectik, London; Lexis Over Land—Towards a Feminist Geography, Tremenheere Sculpture Gallery, Cornwall (all 2017). Her work was included in the Diaspora Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale, 2017.
Quantum Ghost was commissioned and produced by Gasworks, London through the Freelands Gasworks Partnership. Supported by Freelands Foundation and Arts Council England.