The photography exhibition Six Songs, Swirling Gracefully in the Taut Air brings together works from various long-term series composed by Berlin-based Nigerian photographer Akinbode Akinbiyi, who has captured intimate scenes and communal life in cities such as Lagos, Berlin, Johannesburg, Bamako and Chicago, among many other locations.

Akinbode Akinbiyi’s anthology of black and white pictures reflects a world of overlooked narratives, gestures and beliefs in the midst of noisy streets, coastal horizons and dense neighbourhoods. For Akinbiyi, wandering is a central tool for documenting social realities and the psychogeography of urban environments. This exhibition includes the internationally renowned series Lagos: All Roads and the ongoing ensemble African Quarter – photographs made in Berlin since the late 1990s. These document streets that carry historical traces of Germany’s colonial past and plot candid encounters amidst the African diaspora and Afro-German communities in the city, especially around the neighbourhood of Wedding.

Curated by Natasha Ginwala

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