PRESS RELEASE
AKEEM SMITH
SOUNDCLASH
APRIL 27 – JUNE 1, 2024
Heidi is pleased to present SOUNDCLASH, Akeem Smith’s second solo exhibition with the gallery, for which the artist is premiering a series of sound sculptures.
SOUNDCLASH explores Smith’s longstanding interest in the concept of loudness — auditory, visual, or behavioral — in relation to prevailing norms and accepted decorum. Here Smith probes the term’s pejorative application within a history of protest, cultural expression, and social communication.
Standing tall and lean, the minimalist sculptures – composed of remnants from itinerant building materials gathered by the artist – convey a utilitarian elegance. Sound joins the steel, as speakers crown the hard metal frames – raised on a strong perch to a height that can reach a crowd, call across a town square, or alert a barrack. Gathered together like an outcropping of alien flora, the totems coalesce, forming a network of agitation that harmonizes each individual noise into one imposing orchestral rally.
When Smith loads his sculptures with the sounds of protests, including plaintive screams and cries for help, his work asks whether the desperation of the powerless, when accumulated and amplified, drifts into this territory of loudness.