Nottingham Contemporary presents Julian Abraham’s solo exhibition ‘Togar’, REꓘONCILIATION, which invites visitors to create and participate.
Attending art exhibitions generally feels static and rigid. Many regulations, such as prohibiting touching the artwork or maintaining a distance from it, make it difficult for visitors to freely enjoy art with joy. Responding to this issue, Nottingham Contemporary presented Julian Abraham ‘Togar’ solo exhibition, REꓘONCILIATION, from 25 May to 8 September 2024, which made the art experience enjoyable.
The exhibition centres on Togar’s ongoing project, OK Studio, a sound choir featuring instruments and live percussion jamming sessions, inviting visitors to contribute by listening and actively participating.
Works like OK Studio find a perfect home at Nottingham Contemporary. Since its opening in 2009, the gallery has been known for its innovative exhibitions in an iconic and acclaimed gallery building. Nottingham Contemporary frequently hosts international art exhibitions that spark important discussions about culture and society, and like its collaboration with Togar, supports artists at various stages of their careers, from debut solo presentations in the UK to surveys of internationally renowned figures.
REꓘONCILIATION also marked Togar’s debut exhibition in the UK summer. For those unfamiliar with him, Togar is an Indonesian multidisciplinary artist who frequently incorporates music and soundscapes into his work. His ongoing project, OK Studio, serves as the foundation for REꓘONCILIATION, providing a physical space for creating music and activations, as well as a theoretical space that re-examines the function of art and its relationship with the public.
Residency as a Space for Gathering
Togar first undertook a month-long residency in Nottingham to explore and engage with the diverse community, cultural climate, and meet a number of Nottingham Contemporary partners, such as the Robin Hood Youth Orchestra (RHYO), whose 60 young musicians aged 15–19 come from various schools in Nottingham to rehearse in the performance space every Saturday morning.
These young musicians also participated in two rehearsal sessions and three jam sessions with Togar, which were then developed to create new works together. This process was filmed and became a component of the artworks exhibited as part of Togar’s exhibition.
Six young musicians also performed with Togar at the exhibition opening, and they continued to return with their relatives to engage and activate the exhibition space through improvisation with instruments throughout the duration of the exhibition.
Exhibition as a Space to Collaborate
In his exhibition, Togar created a participatory environment centred on a combination of sounds consisting of automatic instruments, reworked synthesizers, keyboards, sea drums, and live percussion interventions with the aim of offering visitors the opportunity to collaborate, experiment, explore, imagine, and produce.
There was also a Feedback Loop session throughout the duration of the exhibition. This session discussed and represented a system of action and reaction, the perception of time, and generative and cyclical methods of knowledge. Building on Togar's efforts in this exhibition, accompanied by the question ‘What kind of hosts are we?’, Feedback Loop seeks to break down binary relationships in an exhibition by transforming the exhibition atmosphere into a circuit of sound and exchange.
This session featured numerous artists, including a dub poetry reading with Brother Portrait, Mampir Session: Capoeira with The Godmother of Hip-Hop and Mac Collins & Premier League Dominoes, and a listening session with Paul Stan Nataraj and Masimba Hwati. The session received positive responses.
