Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike
‘Is the soil right?’
13 Sep – 26 Oct 2024

Up Suh by James Massiah


I steal away 
To Dalston Lane
From CR4 2CU 
More

When all go South 
You open door 
And let me lay 
Safe and secure

I steal away 
To inner town 
To outer reach 
To Petit Nice

To heavy pet 
In Cynsige Town 
Go all around 
And let me sleep

I do a round 
Then lay me down 
A feeble man 
I'll rise in time

Be stronger then 
Once rested up
With wash in mouth 
Then tea in cup

I'll see me out 
And steal away 
No fire burn
I pray²

You pray 
I stay 
Parley
No lay

I steal away 
Return the gift 
To where it's from 
To where it lives

To where it's home 
To where's it roam 
From Brixton Road
To Roman Road

To Saxon Sound 
To listen dub 
To Tubby I 
To Channel One

To Shanti I
To lose the first 
Of what it meant
And see it cursed

When home is stolen
Where is home 
Anansi's web 
Pon garden gnome

Not get me worse 
Be better still 
I steal away 
To home in Hill

One dusty road
One city street 
One piece o' yam
Two piece ah meat

My miss uptown
I miss her so 
When feeling down 
Up so I go

Olu Ogunnaike (b. 1986, London, UK) lives and works in London. Recent solo and two-person exhibitions include: Fix Your Face, Spike Island, Bristol (2024); Your Presence is a Present (with Constantin Thun), Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson (2024); An enclosed garden, gb agency, Paris (2022); I’d rather stand, Museum Folkwang, Essen (2021); Crumbs, CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux (2021); The Same Way You Came In?, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2021); London Plain, Cell Project Space, London (2020). Recent group exhibitions include: Air de Repos, CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux (forthcoming); Reluctant Gravities, Hollybush Gardens, London (2024); Systemic Love, CAPC, Bordeaux (2023); To “the fire next time”, Villa Arson, Nice (2023); Testament, Goldsmiths CCA, London (2022); Domestic Drama, HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark, Graz (2021); Reconfigured, curated by Rose Easton, Timothy Taylor, New York (2021). Is the soil right? is Ogunnaike’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.

Photography by Jack Elliot Edwards

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Staying put, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

Olu Ogunnaike, Staying put, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

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Olu Ogunnaike, Staying put, 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Staying put, 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Staying put, 2024 (alternative view)

Olu Ogunnaike, Staying put, 2024 (alternative view)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Staying put, 2024 (detail)

Olu Ogunnaike, Staying put, 2024 (detail)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Here, but not., 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

Olu Ogunnaike, Here, but not., 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

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Olu Ogunnaike, Here, but not., 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Here, but not., 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Here, but not., 2024 (alternative view)

Olu Ogunnaike, Here, but not., 2024 (alternative view)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Here, but not., 2024, (detail)

Olu Ogunnaike, Here, but not., 2024 (detail)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Find another table, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

Olu Ogunnaike, Find another table, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

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Olu Ogunnaike, Find another table, 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Find another table, 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Find another table, 2024 (alternative view)

Olu Ogunnaike, Find another table, 2024 (alternative view)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Find another table, 2024 (detail)

Olu Ogunnaike, Find another table, 2024 (detail)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, I left a Loophole, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

Olu Ogunnaike, I left a Loophole, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

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Olu Ogunnaike, I left a Loophole, 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, I left a Loophole, 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, I left a Loophole, 2024 (alternative view)

Olu Ogunnaike, I left a Loophole, 2024 (alternative view)

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Olu Ogunnaike, I left a Loophole, 2024 (detail)

Olu Ogunnaike, I left a Loophole, 2024 (detail)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, It’s filled with ups and downs, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190×120cm

Olu Ogunnaike, It’s filled with ups and downs, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

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Olu Ogunnaike, It’s filled with ups and downs, 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, It’s filled with ups and downs, 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, It’s filled with ups and downs, 2024 (alternative view)

Olu Ogunnaike, It’s filled with ups and downs, 2024 (alternative view)

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Olu Ogunnaike, It’s filled with ups and downs, 2024 (detail)

Olu Ogunnaike, It’s filled with ups and downs, 2024 (detail)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Close enough?, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel 190×120cm

Olu Ogunnaike, Close enough?, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

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Olu Ogunnaike, Close enough?, 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Close enough?, 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Close enough?, 2024 (alternative view)

Olu Ogunnaike, Close enough?, 2024 (alternative view)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Close enough?, 2024 (detail)

Olu Ogunnaike, Close enough?, 2024 (detail)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Don’t dilute it, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190×120cm

Olu Ogunnaike, Don’t dilute it, 2024, charcoal dust silkscreen print on mirrored steel, 190 x 120 cm

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Olu Ogunnaike, Don’t dilute it, 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Don’t dilute it, 2024

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Olu Ogunnaike, Don’t dilute it, 2024 (alternative view)

Olu Ogunnaike, Don’t dilute it, 2024 (alternative view)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Don’t dilute it, 2024 (detail)

Olu Ogunnaike, Don’t dilute it, 2024 (detail)

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Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

Olu Ogunnaike, Is the soil right?, Rose Easton, London, 13 September - 26 October 2024

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