Nº87: Oluwatobiloba Ajayi
The artist and writer recs her favourite author, an L.A. Rebellion film, private reviews, and much more.
We’re back with Oluwatobiloba Ajayi. Read on to find out what she’s into, and if you’re new here, hit subscribe for artist’s recommendations every week.
Oluwatobiloba Ajayi is a London-based artist & writer.
☞ GALLERY: The first time I walked into CASSIUS&Co. in Knightsbridge, Fraser (founder & director) asked me whether I ‘meant to’ go there. I thought it was a perfect greeting. I love his cynicism, and his dedication to being on the periphery of any singular scene. His shows are really sharp, and they’ve just expanded to a new space near Leicester Square.
☞ PAUL AUSTER: Anyone that knows me will be rolling their eyes, but I have been given a platform and I’m going to use it! Auster is MY greatest American writer. His books are mostly about men that are lost, untethered from their own lives, haunting their environments rather than actually existing in them. He makes me almost believe the New York thing, and he loves New Jersey, a man after my own heart. The writing is so generous, and the threads across his novels and characters are really quite ADDICTIVE. Special shoutout to his wife Siri Hustvedt’s What I Loved which is a perfectly choreographed book, and both writers take from each other’s tongues at times without alteration. That’s my idea of romance and noticing those moments feels like walking in on a pair of lovers.
☞ JUNE JORDAN’S POETRY: I think language should be as precise as possible, and Jordan is a powerful example. This is as close to the truth as you can get, and we need the truth now more than ever, thank you <3
☞ CRITICAL THINKING & HAVING YOUR OWN OPINIONS: When you consume and share content at the rate that ‘we’ do, it is easy to also absorb opinions and parrot them as your own. I would strongly recommend a return to arriving at one’s own opinions. Personally, I write private reviews of every movie, book, and live performance (theatre, mostly) I encounter. That’s arguably unhinged, but it is a treasured practice, and I would encourage everyone to consciously, consistently, and stubbornly cultivate their perspectives through whatever means they choose.
☞ JUPITER MAGAZINE: Speaking of criticality, Camille & Daria have built something in only four issues that makes me feel like we will be okay! Jupiter is a new publication hoping to ‘create conditions that beget more equitable writing lives’. You can tell their writers feel supported by the playfulness of their contributions. A personal favourite is my dear friend Diallo’s essay on Guinean guitarist Mamady Kouyate and Grace Wales Bonner’s show at MoMA, from Issue 1.
☞ PARLIAMENT HILL FIELDS LIDO: Cold water swimming is really incredible, lidos are so special and funding for them should be protected. It is important to frolic in nature at least once a week with very good people. Euphoria is more accessible than you might think.
☞ DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST: Julie Dash, you will always be famous. Daughters of the Dust is an L.A. Rebellion film, the first film directed by an African-American woman to be distributed widely in the United States. It follows three generations of Gullah women as they negotiate a potential move to the mainland of the United States, fearing the loss of tradition that might accompany such an exodus. It’s stunning visually (Arthur Jafa does the cinematography) and conceptually rich—tracing domesticity, ancestral memory, ritual, migration, and land sovereignty. I could go on, but in short: it is a must-watch I fear!
☞ JACQUELINE NOVAK: Get on Your Knees: Do you like to laugh?
☞ READINGS: With me in them, invite me to read please!
♪ LISTENING TO:
Prof G Markets: Financial literacy is sexy, and so are the hosts. The chemistry between Elson and Galloway is palpable, and they are biiiigggg brain.
50 Years of the Piano Man, Billy Joel: No skips…?? Vienna also particularly hits in this period of life, as does Summer, Highland Falls.
☠ HATES:
The merging of art disciplines: I am sorry, but I do not care about fashion, and that is okay. Carrie Mae Weems for Bottega, Henry Taylor painting Pharrell for Vogue, Rashid Johnson on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar… I don’t doubt this is snobbish and maybe I have some unlearning to do, but I am nooottttt into it.
American things coming to the UK: I’m traumatised by when I went to see A Strange Loop at the Barbican and it was flop central. Not all things translate across the pond.
Thanks Oluwatobiloba! Follow Oluwatobiloba here!
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