Books

X, the Navigator

X, the Navigator charts experimental cartographies between Lagos, Nigeria and Lisbon, Portugal. Influenced by indigenous cartographic systems in West Africa which sometimes appear cryptic, Maryam Kazeem invites readers to an alternative navigational map between the two cities. The images underscore secrecy as fundamental to their logic as the work contemplates early Portuguese colonial cartography through the adoption of the persona, “X, the Navigator”, a play on Prince Henry the Navigator, the Portuguese prince who “inspired, financed and organised” the early Portuguese colonial expeditions to Africa. X, the Navigator is interested in the myth of Prince Henry’s persona as navigator - what does navigation entail when it is not linked to violent discovery, when the assumed “visual innocence” of Western traditional cartography is challenged? (Katherine McKittrick, Demonic Grounds) Prince Henry died in 1460 and in 1472, Portuguese sailor Rui de Sequeira arrived in Lagos, giving it the name, Lago de Curamo, which eventually became “Lagos”.

By centering her body, movement, and thought, X, the Navigator attempts to create an alternative route between Lagos and Lisbon, which explores the radical possibilities of black geographies. X, the Navigator is the first draft of an ongoing series of cartographic experiments.

Felt Weave Cover, 5.5 in. x 8.5 in., 40 pages, edition 20, 2023.

Text and Design by Maryam Kazeem

Published by iranti press

a letter a day

December 2024

a letter a day by Adeyosola Adeniran is an artist book/object presented as part of “when the pages don’t bend” curated by Maryam Kazeem for the [UDUA] exhibition/art market presented by Fresco gallery and 16/16. The book is made out of acrylic/plexiglass to express curiosity about paper alternatives and the book as a sculpture.

The artist book is hand engraved with poetic text contemplating the existential dread of confronting each day. Composed of seven poems—one for every day of the week—each poem reflects on a word ascribed to the day’s letter, collectively pondering the nature of existence.

Acrylic, 6 in. x 8 in., 9 pages, edition 1, 2024.

Text and Design by Adeyosola Adeniran

Published by iranti press

Serials/Ephemera

FESTAC 2077 - FESTAC 2077…a manifesto (beginnings)

November 2024

FESTAC 2077…a manifesto is a serial of iranti’s inaugural publication series, FESTAC 2077. It is a constellation of publications and micro publications that will lay the groundwork for future editions of FESTAC 2077. The artist’s book documents FESTAC 2077 workshops: MANIFESTO SEEDS Experimental Writing Workshop (Lagos, May 2023), and FESTAC 2077 Publishing ACTS.

FESTAC 2077…a manifesto (beginnings) is a two chapter publication which collates the various exercises of the programme and holds spaces for the unknown—the manifestos to come leading to 2077 and perhaps beyond.

Chapter One, “Manifesto Acts”, by Joshua Segun-Lean introduces the Manifesto ACTS! project by considering the demands which might be placed on the manifesto today and under what conditions such a document might emerge. It accomplishes this by tracing the theoretical and formal conventions of the manifesto alongside creative and critical practices which exemplify its historic use as a site of public enactment and discursive intervention.

Chapter Two, “Alternative Route”, by Maryam Kazeem details the ongoing activities of FESTAC 2077 experimental writing workshops. While underscoring the pedagogical approach of the workshops and its tenets in the early years of the project – artistic research and publishing practices (publishing acts) as necessarily embedded in the fabric and framework of FESTAC 2077 – this chapter also posits the iterative nature of the workshop.

Vegetable Parchment Cover, 5.8 in. x 8.3 in., pages, edition 5, 2024.

Text by Maryam Kazeem and Joshua Segun-Lean

Publication Direction by Maryam Kazeem and Papa Omotayo

Art Direction by Max Kalaiwo

Editorial Assistance by Adeyosola Adeniran

Published by iranti press