Van Gogh House presents 'Back-a-Yard Swag', a solo exhibition of sculpture, assemblage and music by artist Dinu Li. The exhibition materialises an overlooked but important British history of blues parties in the homes of Caribbean communities, kept alive until the late 1980s.
The works center on the memory of one specific all-nighter Li attended, where the playlist included tracks produced by descendants of Chinese indentured labourers in Jamaica. Bass, echoes and reverb vibrate across the rooms of Van Gogh House, interspersed with the sounds of Chinese tribal mountain songs, a sampling of mid 1960’s rocksteady beats and a dub playlist.
The objects and materials brought together by Li, form a structure of new familiarity, acting as cultural agents for polyphonic multiplicity.
