Frida Orupabo | 15th Gwangju Biennale

Frida Orupabo is part of South Korea’s 15th Gwangju Biennale titled Pansori: A Soundscape of the 21st Century. Among several works, the presentation includes Orupabo’s large-scale photogravure Sickbed I, 2024

The composition of Sickbed I, 2024 is dominated by a massive bed that almost swallows up the female figure lying in it. The resting figure, a recurring motif in Orupabo’s work, references Ghanaian writer Ayi Kwei Armah’s concept of rest as a survival strategy in response to traumatic events.

All elements in Orupabo’s digital collage are riddled with unresolved contradictions: the figure in bed could be resting, but on closer inspection she appears to be fixed to the bedframe. The visual elements that make Orupabo’s composition are charged with tension highlighting a crucial element of Armah’s idea: that after rest, awakening must follow. With that in mind, the bed itself could be interpreted as a place of comfort and rest; but its oversized proportions seem almost threatening as something one cannot escape from.